SEATTLE (AP) — Animals used in experiments at Seattle Children's Research Institute were denied proper care, according to inspection reports from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Seattle Times reports that the institute was cited twice for letting animals experience unnecessary "pain and distress."

The report says during one set of experiments, six pigs struggled during surgical procedures. That indicated they were not properly anesthetized.

A second incident involved mice. Several had wounds that should have been treated, but researchers didn't provide medication.

The documents were released this week as part of a USDA complaint filed by the animal rights group Stop Animal Exploitation Now.

Seattle Children's spokeswoman Alyse Bernal said in an email that the institute reported problems with the pig experiments to the USDA and stopped the experiment. They also stopped the mouse project.

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