After several lawmakers criticized the Pentagon for authorizing painful experiments on dogs, animal testing watchdogs said the agency was just the latest to be exposed. Now, one by one, agencies are being forced to halt their tests.
A month after Fox News broke the story, Rep. Young Kim, Republican of California, and Rep. Donald Davis, Democrat of North Carolina, led more than 20 House members in demanding a detailed explanation of how the Pentagon spent taxpayer money in this way.
At the same time, a spokesperson for the White Coat Waste Project, an organization that works to end taxpayer-funded animal testing, said they hope that with the new attention and a rider to the NDAA, the Department of Defense will become the second federal agency to end painful animal testing.
WCW Executive Vice President Justin Goodman added that the experiment was being highlighted in June: Department of Defense-approved tests have also been reported. Cats have been given “electric shocks” to study erectile dysfunction.
‘Barbaric’ drug testing of Pentagon dogs outrages pet advocates
Beagle dog in the snow (iStock)
He noted that revelations about the experiments led House members to insert an amendment into the 2025 Department of Defense Act that would prohibit the Defense Department from continuing any biomedical pet experiments. Congressman Jared MoskowitzThe Florida Democratic congressman, a member of the Congressional Dog Caucus, authored the amendment.
The letter, addressed to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, asks for clarification about the dog testing timeline, the number of dogs tested, the USDA’s “pain categories” for DOD animal testing, and the fact that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require testing of human drugs on dogs.
“We are concerned that the Department of Defense would use taxpayer money to conduct inhumane dog experiments in order to develop human medicines and do not believe it is a wise use of the Department’s resources,” the letter said.
They also requested figures for current grants, contracts and expenditures related to testing, both now and for the past five years. Goodman pointed to a specific defense contract related to the beagle testing that was disclosed in June and ended on July 31.
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A plane flies over the Pentagon on January 11, 2024. (Andrew Caballero Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
“This new letter also follows and cites our successful efforts in the NDAA to unite Democrats and Republicans to end all use (of cat and dog testing) by the Department of Defense,” said Goodman, whose group helped draft the letter.
“We’ve revealed stories about drug testing of puppies and lethal experiments on kittens, but the full extent of this wasteful spending is unknown because of the lack of transparency.
“We’ve eliminated dog and cat testing at the VA in recent years, and now we’re trying to get the Department of Defense to follow suit. And unfortunately, there are several other agencies, including the NIH and USDA, that are spending taxpayer money on pets.”
Kim, the lead signatory of the letter, said the Pentagon had spent nearly $1 million on testing on beagles alone and called the practice “inhumane and cruel.”
“The fact that this research took place despite the Department of Defense’s ban on the use of dogs and cats in medical and surgical training and weapons research shows that we must continue to hold the administration accountable,” she said.
Davis said public funds should not be used for such testing, adding that Congress must work to stop the practice.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis of New York, who signed the letter, called the practice “appalling.”
“This must stop immediately,” she said. “As co-chair of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, I am proud to work bipartisanally to stop the Department of Defense and other government agencies from mistreating these innocent dogs and cats in cruel, expensive and completely unnecessary experiments.”
Rep. Michael Lawler, a New York Republican, added that using taxpayer funds for animal testing is something the Pentagon “should not be doing.”
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“Pet abuse is wrong and we should all work to end it, and that must include the Biden administration, which has shown a penchant for experimenting on cats and dogs,” he said.
Two other signatories expressed similar views, with Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, calling the taxpayer-funded practice “torture.” [of] Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pennsylvania) said the Pentagon should look at proven non-animal testing methods.
In response, a Pentagon spokesman said the department “responds directly to the authors,” as it does with all congressional correspondence.
“It is not appropriate for the department to comment on the proposed legislation,” the spokesman said.
In an interview with Fox News Digital, Goodman also said: Letter of the Year 2022 A letter from VA Secretary Denis McDonough to Senator Martin Heinrich (R-NJ) regarding cat experiments to help stroke patients and veterans who have had amputees.
MacDonough wrote a letter to Heinrich, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, authorizing such an investigation and including a legally required report.
Goodman said the VA is forced by Congress to stop testing on cats, dogs and primates by 2026 and disputed any allegations. McDonough has opposed For such tests.
A metal plaque on the front of the Department of Veterans Affairs building in Washington, DC (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
In response, a VA spokesman said approval of the study “in no way constitutes an endorsement of the continuity of the policy” and suggested McDonough was a bureaucratic leader trying to block such testing.
“Under Secretary McDonough’s leadership, we have eliminated all testing on felines and have ended animal testing on sensitive species,” VA spokesman Terrence Hayes said.
“Historically, VA has conducted research using sensitive species only when absolutely necessary to care for people who have served in the military. Over the past 19 years, VA has actively reduced the number of studies using sensitive species, reducing this type of research by more than 90 percent,” Hayes added.
“The assertion that Secretary McDonough personally advocated for this study is false.
When asked about the matter, Kim said he wondered where else such testing was being done within the federal government.
“We should never rely on animal testing, especially with ever-increasing technological advances,” Kim said.
