MADISON, Wis. -- University of Wisconsin-Madison did not make the list of finalists to be home to a federal lab that will study deadly animal diseases.

UW-Madison proposed putting the national bio- and agro-defense lab on land it owns southeast of Madison in the Town of Dunn.

A number of residents near the proposed site protested the idea, WISC-TV reported.

Sites selected as finalists for the facility include San Antonio, Texas, Athens, Ga., Manhattan, Kan., Madison County, Miss., and Durham and Granville counties in North Carolina.

The new lab will replace an aging facility at Plum Island, N.Y., which was criticized for security lapses following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

A statement from the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at UW-Madison said officials are very disappointed that UW-Madison wasn't selected as a finalist.