Florida Rep. Greg Steube remains a voice for those who cannot speak for themselves.
The Sarasota Republican recently led a bipartisan coalition of more than 20 lawmakers in questioning the continued use of dogs and cats for scientific experiments by the National Institutes of Health.
In a letter to NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli on Friday, Steube and Democratic Rep. Dina Titus of Nevada asked the NIH for information about the following for the 2023 fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30:
- How many dogs, cats, and taxpayer dollars were used for “painful” NIH-funded research and testing, both within the agency and by those outside it.
- A list of all projects that used dogs and cats, with the cost of each.
- What specific steps, if any, has the NIH undertaken to reduce and replace the use of dogs and cats in such testing.
- Details of whether the NIH and the Food and Drug Administration have discussed avoiding the use of dogs and cats in drug-safety testing.
- Citations of current policies that “allow or encourage” the retirement of dogs and cats used for NIH-funded research, as well as the number of dogs and cats actually retired from NIH’s labs over the past five years.
Read: Post “Beaglegate” Rep. Steube Introduces Legislation To Cut Funding For NIH Testing On Dogs
Steube noted that the NIH is the single largest funder of such research. And despite the cancellation of a 2022 project that intended to use dogs, the agency still resorts to animal experiments that raise concerns.
In the letter, Steube highlighted six such incidents as uncovered by the White Coat Waste Project, a nonprofit watchdog group that hounds the federal government about its use of animals for scientific research.
Among those examples was one project dating back 75 years wherein more than 100 beagles, Irish setters, Scottish terriers, and other breeds of puppies are being bred annually at a university lab “to suffer from bleeding disorders” that are studied, the letter noted.
At another lab the NIH has continuously funded since 1985, puppies are intentionally bred to exhibit genetic disorders that cause seizures, paralysis, blindness, and deafness, as part of research.
Given that two-thirds of all U.S. households own pets, Steube wrote, it is not surprising that “virtually all Americans want animals protected from abuse and that a growing number are specifically concerned about the treatment of dogs, cats, and other animals in research.”
Read: WCW Spotlights Biden’s Efforts To Renege On Trump’s Pledge To Quit Animal Testing At EPA
In a press release announcing the letter, Steube added, “On both sides of the political aisle, Americans don’t want the government conducting painful, cruel experiments on dogs and cats.”
“Right now, our tax dollars are enabling these experiments at the NIH. I thank my colleagues for joining me in holding the NIH accountable for their failures to curb experimentation on dogs and cats,” he added.
The press release also included a statement from Justin Goodman, senior vice president of the White Coat Waste Project, who added, “We applaud Reps. Steube and Titus for demanding answers from the National Institutes of Health about its tens of millions in wasteful spending on outdated and inhumane experiments on dogs and cats at home and abroad, despite them being opposed by a growing majority of taxpayers across the political spectrum.”
Read: Congressmembers From Both Sides Drew Kudos From WCW On Efforts To Defund NIH Dog Tests
“Our investigations have documented how the NIH is the government’s largest funder of cruel dog and cat experiments, some of which involve inflicting severe pain and suffering that’s intentionally unrelieved,” Goodman said. “Taxpayers have a right to know how their money is being spent and shouldn’t be forced to fund barbaric animal labs that butcher beagles and cripple kittens.”
Other Florida lawmakers who signed Steube’s letter included GOP Reps. Vern Buchanan of Sarasota, Laurel Lee of the Tampa area, Bill Posey of Rockledge, and Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz of South Florida.
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