Currently, there are an estimated 48,000 dogs and 14,000 cats being held in laboratories throughout the United States.
A bipartisan bill has been introduced to prevent the National Institutes of Health (NIH) from conducting cruel experiments on certain animals, such as mutilations and injections with infectious viruses.
- Beagle puppies subjected to septic shock experiments involving pneumonia bacteria and blood loss.
- Kittens and puppies bred for deadly experiments or genetic disorders.
- Abandoned pet hounds used in experiments with hungry sand flies.
- Beagle puppies injected with fentanyl and cocaine.
- Kittens forced to swallow balloons.
- Cats in Russia crippled and made to walk on treadmills.
The PAAW Act requires the Director of NIH to avoid supporting any research falling under categories D or E as classified by the Department of Agriculture, ensuring better animal welfare in biomedical research.
To enhance accountability and oversight, the bill includes provisions for regular reporting on the use of dogs and cats in NIH-funded research. This reporting will detail ongoing and upcoming research projects, associated costs, efforts to phase out animal use, and the number of animals retired and adopted from research programs.
Additionally, the bill tasks the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) with conducting a comprehensive study to evaluate NIH’s efforts to reduce and replace the use of cats and dogs for research purposes.
The bill highlights instances where the NIH conducted research on common pet animals despite the availability of alternative methods.
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Rep. Mace expressed her concern as an animal lover regarding the cruel experiments conducted on dogs and cats funded by the NIH.
She emphasized the need for the PAAW Act to prevent taxpayers’ money from being used for outdated and inhumane experiments on pets.
White Coat Waste Project (WCWP) praised the PAWW Act in a blog post, highlighting it as the first bill introduced by Congress to completely defund painful NIH testing on dogs and cats.
The organization revealed that over 48,000 dogs and 14,000 cats are confined in U.S. labs, with thousands of them subjected to painful experiments, often without any pain relief, funded by taxpayers through the NIH.
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Efforts are being made by lawmakers to halt experimentation on cats and dogs using federal funds.
According to WCWP, this marked the first time in U.S. history that Congress passed a bill instructing an agency to stop all activities related to experimentation on specific animals. Previously, in 2018, Congress had restricted such activities without an outright ban.
The letter sought details on NIH’s spending for experiments on cats and dogs in fiscal year 2023, as well as specific initiatives to minimize animal testing. It also inquired about meetings between NIH and FDA to explore alternatives to using dogs and cats in drug safety testing.
Documents obtained by WCWP revealed that NIAID spent $13.5 million on experiments where monkeys were injected with infectious diseases causing severe health issues. Pain relief was often withheld in these experiments, despite their excruciating nature.
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