Federal inspectors again cited an Indiana company for violations of the Animal Welfare Act after monkeys at one of its out-of-state breeding facilities lost limbs to severe injuries.
Inotiv, based in West Lafayette, breeds animals for academic and medical research. As part of a 2024 plea agreement over animal welfare and water pollution crimes at a subsidiary’s now-shuttered dog kennel, Inotiv agreed to post all U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection reports to its website.
An April 14, 2026, “focused inspection” report uploaded to the company’s website shows “no non-compliant items identified during this inspection.”
But a “routine inspection” report from the same date available through USDA’s website shows that inspectors found a “critical” animal welfare violation at one of the company’s facilities in Alice, Texas, along the gulf coast.
According to that “routine” report, several crab-eating macaques were injured by poorly-designed enclosures in 2025. Although the enclosures had been updated by the time inspectors entered the facility on April 14, 2026, a “critical” violation was still issued.
Between Aug. 29 and Sept. 22, 2025, five quarantined monkeys had arms get caught in the bottom bars of their cages, prompting veterinary care for pain and swelling.
Another two monkeys were so severely injured by their enclosures that they underwent amputations.
On Sept. 21, 2025, a monkey that figured out how to manipulate its cage’s locks opened a small space beneath a “guillotine door” that separated two enclosures. An infant primate who was on the other side of the partition extended an arm through the opening, leading to a fracture and subsequent amputation.
On Nov. 5, 2025, a macaque’s leg became trapped in a movable partition within a cage. The cage had at one time been sent out for a repair, but one bar hadn’t been rewelded properly, inspectors wrote. The macaque’s leg was amputated at the mid-femur one month later.
The facility received a separate, non-critical citation for animal handling because on Jan. 15, 2026, a female monkey undergoing a sedation procedure also became trapped in her cage, requiring partial toe amputation.
A subsequent inspection of the Alice, Texas, facility on July found no violations.
A representative for Inotiv did not return IndyStar’s request for comment.
“The (April) USDA report raises serious questions about Inotiv’s compliance with its federal plea agreement, which requires the company to maintain adequate staffing, veterinary oversight, and animal welfare standards following criminal violations of the Animal Welfare Act and Clean Water Act at its other facilities,” wrote Dr. Lisa Jones-Engel, chief science advisor for primate experimentation at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Crab-eating macaques, also known as long-tailed macaques or cynomolgus monkeys, were deemed an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2022. They’re the world’s most commonly-traded primate and are “heavily demanded for biomedical and toxicology research,” according to the organization’s assessment.
The latest USDA marks the third time inspectors have documented major animal welfare violations at an Inotiv facility so far in 2026. In March, the federal agency found subsidiary company Envigo liable for the death of 72 rabbits. In April, two dogs died after they were dosed with an experimental drug at an Inotiv-owned Colorado laboratory.
Inotiv’s animal welfare objectives include “achieving the highest standards of animal welfare that are compatible with attaining the scientific objectives of the studies conducted and breeding performed,” according to its website.
The company filed for Chapter 11 voluntary bankruptcy in June. Its filing cited the challenges of operating within a highly regulated industry where noncompliance can have major consequences.
Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Feds issue Indiana company another ‘critical’ animal welfare citation
Reporting by Ryan Murphy, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Ryan Murphy, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
