calender_icon.png 13 July, 2025 | 1:39 PM

Central panel cracks the whip on Palamur Biosciences

27-06-2025 12:00:00 AM

Calls for immediate rescue of 1,200 animals from Telangana lab

Metro India News | Hyderabad 

A central government-appointed inspection panel has called for the urgent rescue and rehabilitation of more than 1,200 animals from Palamur Biosciences, a private animal research and breeding facility in Telangana, citing shocking violations of animal welfare regulations.

The inspection was prompted by a whistle-blower-backed investigation released by PETA India, which exposed disturbing conditions at the facility. Acting on this, the Committee for the Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CCSEA) dispatched a team to assess the situation.

The team documented the presence of 1,232 animals — including beagle dogs, monkeys, pigs, cows, and rats — being kept in deplorable conditions and in numbers far beyond licensed limits. Investigators found dogs trembling in cramped cages, primates subjected to surgeries without anaesthesia, and cows left undernourished and exposed to harsh conditions in muddy outdoor pens. Notably, no sedatives, anaesthesia, or analgesics were found on-site, violating standard veterinary protocols.

Some animals were locked in storage-like rooms with no ventilation, proper food records, or medical oversight. The committee report described the facility’s practices as reflective of “entrenched structural, procedural, and ethical failures,” and strongly recommended that Palamur’s licenses for breeding and experimentation be revoked without delay.

Dr. Anjana Aggarwal, Scientist and Research Policy Advisor at PETA India, said, “It’s been nearly 15 days since this cruelty was revealed, yet the animals continue to suffer. These are sentient beings — not disposable instruments of research.”

In a landmark legal development, an FIR was registered on June 16, 2025, under the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, and relevant IPC sections, making it the first criminal case ever filed against an animal testing laboratory in India.

Despite the damning evidence, enforcement remains pending. PETA has urged the Department of Animal Husbandry to act without delay, warning that continued inaction would only prolong the suffering inside the facility.