PETA Exposé: Animals Suffer Slow, Painful Deaths in UMass Chan Laboratories

Animals confined in the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School’s laboratories are subjected to lives of perpetual misery, with death being the only escape from their suffering. PETA has revealed cases of staff negligence leading to animals enduring slow and painful deaths, such as being crammed inside gas chambers, thrown in the trash, or left living among deceased cage-mates. These careless deaths violate regulations aimed at minimizing pain and fear during euthanasia processes, denying the animals the simple consolation of a pain-free end.

The school's animal oversight committee launched an investigation following multiple incidents of botched euthanasia, leading to a "no-tolerance" policy in September 2025. However, problems persist, with animals continuing to suffer from sloppy deaths. PETA's analysis of public records revealed numerous distressing incidents, including animals found alive in freezers, thrown in the trash, or euthanized in gas chambers beyond capacity limits, highlighting the urgent need for an end to experiments on animals and the adoption of non-animal research methods at UMass Chan.