White Coat Waste Project (WCW) launched a national campaign almost 6 years ago to defund dog testing by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The campaign started soon after WCW released its first major investigation called ‘Spending to Death’. It was a ground-breaking report which exposed how US government agencies were wasting millions of tax dollars to abuse dogs and puppies in laboratory experiments.
Please click on the link below to see the photo. It is not that bad, but advertisers might not approve which is ironic when you think the US government accepted it and worse.
RELATED POST: White Coat Waste Project’s success in forcing LA VA to end deadly tax-funded kitten tests.
Their campaign to end tax funded dog testing of the most painful kind at agency labs across the country has been a complete success. They declared on their website an ‘historic victory’ in that VA has finally ended this form of obnoxious animal testing. The sad truth, however, is that the government found it acceptable for years to endorse and fund these tests. The mentality is wrong.
WCW had the support of Congress, veterans and whistle blowers. They say that they gradually knocked out VA’s illegal and deadly dog labs.
VA was carrying out the most horrendous form of animal testing on these dogs such as:
- Injecting latex into puppies’ arteries
- Drilling holes into beagles’ skulls
- Collapsing the lungs of friendly dogs
- Cutting out living dogs’ hearts
- Injecting Dobermans with methamphetamines
- Forcing hounds to run on treadmills in heart-attack tests.
The final holdout for these horrendous animal testing experiments was at the agency’s Richmond, Virginia lab. WCW obtained documents which confirm that they have stopped doing tests at this lab.
It took “six years of relentless campaigning, lobbying, lawsuits and investigations” to achieve this final nail in the coffin of animal cruelty which was government-sponsored and taxpayer funded.
WCW’s campaign included some historic firsts, they say, which include:
- Congress enacting legislation to defund dog tests and imposing a strict deadline to phase out animal tests.
- The first time a government agency formally committed to cutting experiments on dogs.
- The first time a state law (Virginia) defunded maximum pain experiments on dogs and cats.
- The first time a federal agency instigated a lab animal retirement policy.
- And the first time the National Academy of Sciences criticised a federal agency for conducting wasteful dog tests because there are unnecessary (they always are these days).
WCW proudly state that in 2016 the US Department of Veterans Affairs abused nearly 220 dogs in experiments. Now, in 2022, no dogs “are being tormented in painful and deadly VA testing”.
They further state that WCW “is the only organisation to shut down any government dog tests in at least 15 years”.
Here are statements on this campaign victory from WCW’s Anthony Bellotti and US Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV).
Statement from Anthony Bellotti, founder and president at White Coat Waste Project:
“We’re thrilled that our historic campaign has ended the VA’s last active painful dog labs in Richmond — and has ended wasteful VA dog testing as we knew it. When we launched our very first investigation in 2016, the VA ran the most painful dog experiments in the entire federal government. Over 200 dogs and puppies were abused and killed each year in VA labs across the country. WCW shut down the VA’s wasteful spending to inject latex into puppies’ arteries, drill holes into beagles’ skulls, collapse the lungs of “friendly” dogs, cut out living dogs’ hearts, inject Dobermans with methamphetamines, and force hounds to run on treadmills in heart attack tests.
Our campaign spared countless dogs and cut millions in government waste as we enacted precedent-setting state and federal bipartisan legislation to defund the VA’s dog experiments, secured a historic National Academies of Sciences report criticizing VA dog tests, won free speech lawsuits, launched explosive national front page media, supported brave government whistleblowers, rallied Republicans and Democrats in Congress, united liberty-lovers and animal-lovers from coast to coast, and fired up a grassroots army to wage the most effective campaign to end dog experiments in American history.
We’re proud to be the only organization in nearly two decades to shut down government dog labs, and now we are the only group to have shuttered dog experiments across an entire federal agency. Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to bankroll beagle abuse by bureaucrats in white lab coats. Today’s news confirms the solution: Stop the money. Stop the madness!”
Statement from U.S. Congresswoman Dina Titus (D-NV):
“As a pet owner and member of the Congressional Animal Protection Caucus, I have prioritized animal welfare and fought to end cruel and outdated dog experiments at the Department of Veterans Affairs. There are many alternatives to animal testing that are both humane and yield better results so that we can save dogs, puppies, and taxpayer money. I applaud the VA for moving away from dog testing and will work to ensure other agencies follow their lead.”
They should be rightly proud of what they’ve achieved. I for one I’m always disgusted at reading about scientific experiments on animals in laboratories. This is particularly obnoxious when it is government funded and they are always unnecessary nowadays.
Source: my great thanks to the White Coat Waste Project for this information. I have great admiration for this organisation. It took a relentless amount of commitment to achieve this result.
Below are some more pages on animal testing. There are many more – please search.
Thanks for this Tamara. It is obnoxious and shows a human centric attitude by government combined with a lack of sensitivity about animal welfare and sentience.
I lost count how many petitions I signed over the last 6-7 years to make the VA stop. But this doesn’t stop the horrible testing on cats and the shooting of pigs to do medical field training for doctors. Yup they actually shoot pigs and do surgery in a tent to save them! And they will still keep drilling kittens and cats head to simulate brain injuries. They have simulators they can use and people still donate their bodies to science they don’t need to hurt any animals!