People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has requested that the Brazos County District Attorney investigate the death of a Yorkshire boar at Texas A&M’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science.

PETA cites an inspection report from the USDA in which A&M was cited with a critical violation of the Federal Animal Welfare Act following the boar’s death on July 30. The report states that the animal was removed from its enclosure in the morning and placed in an alleyway, then discovered dead in the afternoon. The report states that since large pigs are sensitive to heat stress and hyperthermia, the presumed cause of death was a heat stroke.

PETA’s letter to the Brazos County District Attorney’s office states that A&M violated federal and possibly state animal welfare laws, and the organization requested a criminal investigation of those involved in the incident. In a press release, PETA Senior Vice President Kathy Guillermo said she finds “the indifference to animal suffering at A&M” appalling.

“Just as we would if a dog died after being locked in a hot car, PETA is calling for a criminal investigation into this pig’s death,” Guillermo said. “The university must learn from this incident and pull the plug on all animal experiments, starting with its horrendously cruel canine muscular dystrophy experiments.”

In a press release from the college of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science released on Oct. 23, the school described the incident as an anomaly and said they have taken steps to make sure the incident never happens again. Additionally, the employee that was responsible for the incident was terminated with cause.

“The internal inquiry found that the employee knew the boar to be aggressive and opted to deviate from protocol when he placed the pig in the alleyway without shade or water while cleaning the pen,” the statement read. “The college was not cited by the U.S.D.A. for animal cruelty or abuse. On the day of the incident, the accidental death was reported by the facility’s director to the attending veterinarian and Texas A&M’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).”

The Battalion has contacted the District Attorney’s office but has not received a comment. This article will be updated as new information becomes available.