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Animal Rights Group Says $82K Record Fee Was Excessive

An animal rights group official has testified that the $82,000 his group was told it would need to pay the University of Missouri for records about dogs and cats used in the school's research appeared to be designed to discourage access.

The Columbia Daily-Tribune reports that Jeremy Beckham was the primary witness in Tuesday's trial. Beckham works for the Beagle Freedom Project, which sued in 2016 over the research and copying estimate.

The group also requested records from other universities. He says the demand from the University of Missouri was by far the costliest.

The suit seeks fines, attorney fees and cost-free access to the records. The university argues that it only sought to recoup its costs.

No ruling is expected until after the final briefs are filed in August.

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