At USMARC, OIG audit refutes charges of animal abuse

It’s taken almost two years to clear the air, but a new USDA Office of Inspector General’s audit report about the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center (USMARC) in Nebraska paints substantially different picture than The New York Times described in a scathing report which alleged animal abuse and prompted calls for investigations.  “Overall, we did not note evidence indicating a systemic problem with animal welfare at USMARC,” the OIG staff noted in a report. But USDA’s “watchdog” found that the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), which oversees the facility, could improve its oversight and take steps to make its research ore transparent to the public.