Grand Jury Indicts Lab Workers of Felony Cruelty-to-Animal Charges

Former workers at a product testing lab in North Carolina were indicted Tuesday by a grand jury with felony cruelty charges, on the basis of video evidence of animal abuse captured on tape during an undercover investigation.

The investigation – undertaken by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal welfare group – produced video footage of lab workers slamming cats into cages, grabbing rabbits by the ears and throwing dogs, the AP reports.

We’ve written before about animal activists getting crafty with the law (here and here), but this is the first time lab workers have faced felony-level charges for animal abuse, PETA lab investigator Kathy Guillermo told the Law Blog.

The lab facility – formerly known as Professional Laboratory and Research Services, Inc. – shut down soon after PETA filed a formal complaint in late 2010. The group tested products such as tick and flea medications for various companies.

In most animal cruelty cases, local authorities are “content” to leave the oversight of labs to the relevant federal bodies, which in this case was the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Guillermo explained.

“It’s truly groundbreaking…to get this kind of response from the District Attorney’s office,” she said.

The owner of the lab, Helen Sonenshine of Virginia, declined comment on Wednesday.