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A former UL-Lafayette employee says she lost her job after voicing concerns over how animals are treated at the university's research center. Now she's filed suit against the university.

According to the lawsuit, Narriman Fakier, was fired from her position at the UL-Lafayette New Iberia Research Center after she repeatedly told supervisors about instances of animal cruelty.

The lawsuit says the research center, which houses more than 6,000 primates, constantly violated the federal Animal Welfare Act, as well as state law.

There are several instances listed. The suit says Fakier's supervisors refused to press charges against a former employee after he burned chimps on the back of the head with a lighter and threw scalding hot water on them.

The suit also says a number of primates died in the winter of 2002 when they were left outside in cages. The suit says Fakier warned her supervisors, but nothing was done.

According to the lawsuit, Fakier was forced to resign as the research center's coordinator because she used poor judgment, failed to follow the proper chain of command and was insubordinate.

Eyewitness News has also confirmed that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is conducting its own investigation into alleged animal cruelty at the research center.

UL-Lafayette spokeswoman Julie Dronet says she can't comment on the suit.

But, she does say that the research center has been reviewed by outside agencies and has never had a problem.