32 Research Monkeys Die in Overheated Lab

Thirty-two research monkeys at a Nevada laboratory died because their human handlers left the room fatally hot, said officials for the drug company that runs the facility. Charles River Laboratories representatives have met with USDA officials to discuss new measures to avoid a repeat of the accident that involved a faulty heating system, according to the company. The USDA reportedly cited the lab for dozens of violations of the Animal Welfare Act the last three years.

"Monkeys were literally cooked to death by a heating system failure, " said an incensed PETA spokeswoman, who said the facility "did not even have a simple alarm system in place to alert staff to the malfunction." (More PETA stories.)