Activists Petition Wisconsin Court to Prosecute Researchers for Test Animals’ Deaths

Animal-rights activists have petitioned a Wisconsin court to prosecute officials and researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison for the accidental deaths of three sheep in a study related to decompression sickness, The Wall Street Journal reported. A judge in Madison heard arguments in the case on Thursday. The activists’ use of the petition statute is an example of a new approach in which animal-rights groups are pursuing their cause by turning to a variety of existing laws, the Journal reported.