An animal rights group on Monday sued the University of Missouri, alleging it violated the state’s Sunshine Law more than 200 times and charged an excessive fee of $82,222.33 for records the group requested about animals being tested for research at the School of Medicine.
Individual members and supporters with California-based Animal Rescue, Media & Education's Beagle Freedom Project filed 27 records requests with MU between September and December that also asked for fee waivers. When MU refused the waiver and charged between $400 and $700 for each request, the not-for-profit hired an attorney and filed 179 more requests — one for each dog and cat it believed had been used for testing at the medical school. MU responded with an estimated cost of more than $82,000, according to the petition filed in Boone County Circuit Court. Continue…
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