Latest news with #WhiteCoatWaste
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Cats and Dogs Will No Longer Be Used in Navy Research, Secretary Says
The Navy will end all research studies that involve testing on dogs and cats after an intense campaign by activists, influencers and congressional members. Navy Secretary John Phelan announced last week that the service would halt the animal experiments and ordered a review of all medical research to ensure the studies align with ethical guidelines and "scientific necessity." "Today, it gives me great pleasure to terminate all Department of the Navy's testing on cats and dogs, ending these inhumane practices and saving taxpayer dollars," Phelan said in a statement on the social media platform X. Read Next: Hegseth Orders Navy to Strip Name of Gay Rights Icon Harvey Milk from Ship The announcement follows a yearslong campaign by White Coat Waste Project, a nonprofit whose aim is to stop the U.S. government from using animals or funding research that harms animals, and to end several Defense Department studies, including Navy research on erectile dysfunction, constipation and incontinence in humans that used cats as subjects. As recently as last year, the Defense Department funded a research initiative using beagles to test an experimental drug, according to the group. The DoD banned the use of dogs in trauma training and weapons testing in the late 1980s but has used them in limited medical research. White Coat Waste estimates that the federal government spends $20 billion each year on research studies that involve dogs and cats. "We applaud Secretary Phelan, Secretary Hegseth and President Trump for first slashing the U.S. government's largest dog lab and now sending the Pentagon's cat and dog abuse to the litterbox of history. Defunding dog and cat labs has been our top priority for Trump 47," the group's founder and president, Anthony Bellotti, said in a statement. White Coat Waste announced in mid-May that the Pentagon halted funding for the Navy's $10.8 million medical research project on cats. The group credited conservative influencer Laura Loomer, who has called attention to the issue on her "Loomer Unleashed" podcast and social media platforms, and billionaire and presidential adviser Elon Musk for lobbying for change. "We exposed animal testing contracts at the Department of Defense, and @PeteHegseth and Secretary Phelan took immediate action to end these cruel and abusive taxpayer-funded experiments on innocent animals," Loomer wrote on X on May 28. "This is such an amazing victory toward the end of taxpayer-funded animal testing!" Last year, Congress signed legislation to end research at the Department of Veterans Affairs that used cats, dogs and primates. White Coat Waste began lobbying lawmakers to end the VA's use of live animals for experiments in 2017. After Phelan's announcement, the animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals wrote the Navy secretary and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth thanking them for the change. But they asked that the ban be expanded to include the use of live animals for non-medical research, such as trauma training and weapons experiments. For example, according to PETA, the Navy continues to use mammals for decompression sickness and oxygen tests, while the Army is allowed to use mammals, including primates and marine mammals, in weapons testing. "Pigs, rats and other animals feel pain and fear just as dogs and cats do, and their torment in gruesome military experiments must end," PETA Vice President Shalin Gala said in a statement. "PETA appreciates the Trump administration's decision to stop the Navy's torture tests on dogs and cats, and we urge a broader ban across the Pentagon." PETA also has pressed the Pentagon to halt funding for research that involves animals at foreign institutions. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, and Rep. Lisa McClain, R-Mich., reintroduced a bill last month that would end U.S. government funding of research that involves animals in China, including Hong Kong; Iran; North Korea; and Russia. "American taxpayer dollars should never fund dangerous, cruel experiments in animal research labs -- much less in China or other adversarial countries," McClain said in a statement. "This common-sense legislation ensures taxpayer dollars are not wasted on reckless research." "Hard-working taxpayers in eastern North Carolina and across America should not pay for risky experimentation in countries not subject to regular oversight and accountability," Democratic co-sponsor Rep. Don Davis of North Carolina, said in a news release. -- Pentagon reporter Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report. Related: Military Trauma Training on Live Pigs, Goats Sparks New Lawsuit Seeking Details
New York Post
5 days ago
- Health
- New York Post
NIH won't renew ‘cruel' drug experiments on beagle puppies — some as young as 8 months old
WASHINGTON — China-led drug tests on hundreds of beagle puppies won't be conducted anymore on the US taxpayers' dime, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) confirmed to The Post on Thursday — but the Defense Department still hasn't copped to partially funding the research deemed 'cruel' by lawmakers and a watchdog group. A $124,200 contract between the NIH and the Beijing-based biotech firm Pharmaron to test pharmaceuticals on the pooches from Sept. 1, 2023, to May 31, 2025, is not being renewed, according to a spokesperson with the public health agency's Office of Extramural Research. The taxpayer watchdog White Coat Waste Project unearthed the contract via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, with documents showing up to 300 beagles — as well as rats and mice — were being tested per week to help understand and treat neurological disorders. Advertisement 3 A $124,200 contract between the NIH and the Chinese biotech firm Pharmaron to test pharmaceuticals on beagles is not being renewed, a rep for the agency's Office of Extramural Research said. via White Coat Waste Project The experiments abided by the Animal Welfare Act and the Public Health Service Policy on Laboratory — but White Coat Waste pointed to the contract discussing how the pups, some as young as eight months, were 'reused' and then 'euthanized' if they suffered organ dysfunction, were infected or became weak. A Defense Department spokesperson previously claimed there was no 'evidence' of the Pentagon contributing taxpayer dollars to the research. Advertisement 'There is no evidence we can find that indicates the Department of Defense funds any related animal research,' a spokesperson said of the experiments in January 2025. 3 The contract stated the NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences 'received a DoD award to specifically fund animal studies delineated in this award.' Obtained via FOIA by White Coat Waste Project (WCW) But the contract stated the NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences 'received a DoD award to specifically fund animal studies delineated in this award.' Reps for the Defense Department did not respond to requests for comment. Advertisement White Coat Waste uncovered the contract as part of an investigation into more than two dozen Chinese labs that had received $2 million-plus in taxpayer funding for animal testing and other experiments. 3 The White Coat Waste Project probed more than two dozen Chinese labs that received $2 million-plus in taxpayer funding for animal testing and other experiments. Grandbrothers – 'We're thrilled that less than 48 hours after the US Navy banned all dog and cat tests following a White Coat Waste campaign, Trump's NIH is now cutting wasteful dog experiments we unearthed in a taxpayer-funded Chinese lab,' said White Coat Waste senior vice president Justin Goodman. 'We're proud of our hard-fought campaign that notched this victory and applaud NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and President Trump for kicking taxpayer-funded canine cruelty in China to the doghouse of history.' Advertisement Staten Island GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) have been among the lawmakers opposing taxpayer-funded animal testing and other potentially risky research in countries of concern, such as China. Pharmaron is one of several 'companies of concern' that had been blacklisted due to their Chinese Communist Party ties from doing official business with US firms, per legislation that passed the House last Congress but was never taken up in the Senate. The Department of Defense's Office of Inspector General audited the Pentagon's funding for overseas gain-of-function research last year and uncovered collaborations with the companies: Pharmaron, WuXi AppTec and Genscript Inc.
Epoch Times
05-05-2025
- Health
- Epoch Times
National Institutes of Health Ends Experiments on Beagles
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has ended experiments on beagles, the agency's director said on May 4. 'We got rid of all of the beagle experiments on the NIH campus,' Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, director of the NIH, said on Fox News. The NIH The announcement means the NIH no longer has any in-house dog labs, according to the White Coat Waste Project, which has been tracking the agency's dog experiments for years. The tests on beagles at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, have been taking place since at least 1986 and have resulted in the killing of thousands of dogs, according to the group. The testing involved giving the beagles pneumonia-causing bacteria and bleeding them out, forcing them into septic shock. 'Taxpayers and pet owners shouldn't be forced to pay for the NIH's beagle abuse, and now, following a White Coat Waste campaign, they won't have to,' Anthony Bellotti, president and founder of the government watchdog, told The Epoch Times via email. Related Stories 5/1/2025 4/11/2025 The group said it will keep working to end similar experiments that are funded with taxpayer money and conducted elsewhere. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), which sued the NIH over the experiments, said its supporters have sent tens of thousands of emails to NIH officials urging the officials to end them. 'PETA welcomes the long-overdue news that NIH is canceling at least one of the appalling sepsis experiments that inflicted prolonged suffering on animals in federal and federally funded laboratories,' Dr. Emily Trunell, PETA's director of science advancement and outreach, told The Epoch Times in an email. 'Since 2013, PETA has argued for the complete termination of these cruel and scientifically worthless experiments on ALL animals—and we will continue to fight until every last one is ended.' Lawmakers from both parties had expressed concern over the beagle experiments. Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) were among the lawmakers to cheer Bhattacharya's announcement. The NIH had recently 'It's very easy, for instance, to cure Alzheimer's in mice. But those things don't translate to humans,' Bhattacharya said on Fox. 'So we put forward a policy to replace animals in research with technological advances, AI, and other tools that actually translate better to human health.'
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NIH closes experimentation labs accused of brutally killing thousands of beagles for 40+ years
National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Jay Bhattacharya recently announced on Fox News the agency closed its last in-house beagle laboratory on the NIH campus. The announcement comes just days after Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk posted on X that he would investigate funding beagle experiments. A report from the White Coat Waste (WCW) project detailed the lab's history of allegedly pumping pneumonia-causing bacteria into more than 2,000 beagles' lungs, bleeding them out, and forcing them into septic shock for deadly experiments. Following the announcement, WCW president and founder Anthony Bellotti praised President Donald Trump for ending the highly scrutinized project. Rep. Nancy Mace Says Fauci 'Sent Puppies To Slaughter' With 'Barbaric And Gruesome' Nih-funded Experiments "Taxpayers and pet owners shouldn't be forced to pay for the NIH's beagle abuse," Bellotti wrote in a statement. "We applaud the President for cutting this wasteful NIH spending and will keep fighting until we defund all dog labs at home and abroad. The solution is simple: Stop the money. Stop the madness!" Read On The Fox News App Hhs Axes More Than $300M In Gender, Dei-related Health Grants To California Alone Shortly after the Trump administration took office, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in April it would phase out an animal testing requirement for antibody therapies and other drugs in favor of testing on materials that mimic human organs. Environmental Protection Agency chief Lee Zeldin also announced his agency would reinstate a 2019 policy from the first Trump administration to phase out animal testing. Peta Pleads With Nih To Stop Funding For Animal Study, Calls Sleep Experiment 'Cruel And Horrific' During Trump's first term in 2019, the administration closed the government's largest cat lab. Bhattacharya said People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) reached out to him following the closure of the beagle testing facility, sending him flowers. Peta, Animal Rights Groups Praise Trump Admin For Phasing Our 'Cruel Tests On Dogs' And Other Animals "Normally, I think NIH directors tend to get physical threats, but they sent me flowers," Bhattacharya said on air. PETA in 2021 highlighted Anthony Fauci's alleged approval of funding for tests in Tunisia where beagle puppies were drugged, and their heads were locked in cages filled with hungry, infected sandflies. Trump Admin Cuts Additional $1M In Federal Funding For 'Transgender Animal' Experiments After the reports came out, 23 bipartisan lawmakers, including Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., sent a letter to Fauci addressing the heartbreaking experiments. "Yesterday, I sent a letter to Dr. Fauci regarding cruel, taxpayer-funded experiments on puppies; debarking before drugging and killing them," Mace wrote in an October 2021 post on X. "This is disgusting. What say you @NIH." Kathy Guillermo, PETA senior vice president of laboratory investigations, told Fox News Digital on Sunday night the organization is "delighted" by the news of the NIH facility closure. "We are letting the new NIH Director know how important this step is for modernizing science, and we're especially happy because these last experiments involved sepsis, which we have been working to end for several years. Sepsis experiments on animals are failures." Guillermo noted PETA has a lawsuit pending, filed under the Biden administration, to try to prevent the government from funding any more sepsis experiments. The Indiana-based company that bred the beagles for research, Envigo, pleaded guilty in 2024 to neglecting thousands of dogs at its Cumberland, Virginia, breeding facility, and will be required to pay more than $35 million in fines, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. "We are just thrilled to see that the [Envigo] beagles who were used [at the NIH location], will no longer be used," Guillermo said. "We first exposed [Envigo] in an undercover investigation that eventually led to the closure of the facility and the release of 4,000 beagles to good homes." Fda Phasing Out Some Animal Testing In 'Win-win' For Ethics And Public Health: Commissioner PETA is awaiting information about the condition of the dogs that will be released, and if they are in good enough shape to be placed in a home, Guillermo said they stand ready to help. "Dr. Bhattacharya has made a wonderful start, and there is a lot more work to be done, because animals are being experimented on, including beagles and other dogs, across the country," she said. "So we're looking forward to what comes next." The White House and the NIH did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment. Fox News Digital's Emma Colton contributed to this article source: NIH closes experimentation labs accused of brutally killing thousands of beagles for 40+ years
Fox News
05-05-2025
- Health
- Fox News
NIH closes experimentation labs accused of brutally killing thousands of beagles for 40+ years
National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Jay Bhattacharya recently announced on Fox News the agency closed its last in-house beagle laboratory on the NIH campus. The announcement comes just days after Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) head Elon Musk posted on X that he would investigate funding beagle experiments. A report from the White Coat Waste (WCW) project detailed the lab's history of allegedly pumping pneumonia-causing bacteria into more than 2,000 beagles' lungs, bleeding them out, and forcing them into septic shock for deadly experiments. Following the announcement, WCW president and founder Anthony Bellotti praised President Donald Trump for ending the highly scrutinized project. "Taxpayers and pet owners shouldn't be forced to pay for the NIH's beagle abuse," Bellotti wrote in a statement. "We applaud the President for cutting this wasteful NIH spending and will keep fighting until we defund all dog labs at home and abroad. The solution is simple: Stop the money. Stop the madness!" Shortly after the Trump administration took office, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in April it would phase out an animal testing requirement for antibody therapies and other drugs in favor of testing on materials that mimic human organs. Environmental Protection Agency chief Lee Zeldin also announced his agency would reinstate a 2019 policy from the first Trump administration to phase out animal testing. During Trump's first term in 2019, the administration closed the government's largest cat lab. Bhattacharya said People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) reached out to him following the closure of the beagle testing facility, sending him flowers. "Normally, I think NIH directors tend to get physical threats, but they sent me flowers," Bhattacharya said on air. PETA in 2021 highlighted Anthony Fauci's alleged approval of funding for tests in Tunisia where beagle puppies were drugged, and their heads were locked in cages filled with hungry, infected sandflies. After the reports came out, 23 bipartisan lawmakers, including Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., sent a letter to Fauci addressing the heartbreaking experiments. "Yesterday, I sent a letter to Dr. Fauci regarding cruel, taxpayer-funded experiments on puppies; debarking before drugging and killing them," Mace wrote in an October 2021 post on X. "This is disgusting. What say you @NIH." Kathy Guillermo, PETA senior vice president of laboratory investigations, told Fox News Digital on Sunday night the organization is "delighted" by the news of the NIH facility closure. "We are letting the new NIH Director know how important this step is for modernizing science, and we're especially happy because these last experiments involved sepsis, which we have been working to end for several years. Sepsis experiments on animals are failures." Guillermo noted PETA has a lawsuit pending, filed under the Biden administration, to try to prevent the government from funding any more sepsis experiments. The Indiana-based company that bred the beagles for research, Envigo, pleaded guilty in 2024 to neglecting thousands of dogs at its Cumberland, Virginia, breeding facility, and will be required to pay more than $35 million in fines, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. "We are just thrilled to see that the [Envigo] beagles who were used [at the NIH location], will no longer be used," Guillermo said. "We first exposed [Envigo] in an undercover investigation that eventually led to the closure of the facility and the release of 4,000 beagles to good homes." PETA is awaiting information about the condition of the dogs that will be released, and if they are in good enough shape to be placed in a home, Guillermo said they stand ready to help. "Dr. Bhattacharya has made a wonderful start, and there is a lot more work to be done, because animals are being experimented on, including beagles and other dogs, across the country," she said. "So we're looking forward to what comes next." The White House and the NIH did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's requests for comment.
