PETA sues OHSU lab for footage of primate experiments

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) – People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has filed a lawsuit to compel Oregon Health & Science University to release footage of experiments on monkeys at its Oregon National Primate Research Center.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports that the experiments at the Hillsboro center were taxpayer-funded and video of those experiments should be released under Oregon’s open records law, according to PETA.

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Multnomah County Circuit Court.

An OHSU spokeswoman said the university is reviewing the court filing and has no comment at this time.

The lawsuit asks OHSU to produce ” public records relating to maternal nutrition experiments conducted on mother-infant or mother-juvenile pairs of monkeys, and experiments relating to self-injurious behavior. ”

PETA said it previously obtained footage from an OHSU experiment ” in which young monkeys were deliberately frightened with a Mr. Potato Head toy. ”