Well-Being Medical Advances

Rand Paul and five Sen Republicans send letter to Fauci decrying ‘inhumane’ puppy experiments; NIAID pushes back

Story at a glance:

  • Sen. Rand Paul and five Senate Republicans wrote a letter to Anthony Fauci demanding answers about the allegation of cruel experimentation on beagle puppies.
  • The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told Changing America that its standards on animal testing are high.
  • The photo of two unconscious beagles with “their heads in mesh cages filled with hungry sand flies” has nothing to do with the NIAID, the agency says.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is leading a Senate effort to press Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to President Biden and director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), about allegations of cruel experimentation on beagle puppies.

As Changing America previously reported, a bipartisan letter was previously signed by 23 House Reps. led by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and sent to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) regarding the funding of tests on dozens of beagles. 

Similarly, Paul and five other Republican Sens., Roger Marshall, Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, Mike Braun, and Susan Collins, sent a letter to Fauci, White Coat Waste Project told Changing America.


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“We write to express deep concern about recent reports of inhumane experiments on beagle puppies conducted by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) at a cost to taxpayers of $1.68 million,” the letter wrote.

“Even more troubling, this testing appears to have been elective on the part of NIAID, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has said it ‘does not mandate that human drugs be studied in dogs.'”

In response to the widespread condemnation, the NIAID told Changing America that its standards on animal testing are high: peered reviewed and ensured by those with veterinary skills.

“All animals used in NIH-funded research are protected by laws, regulations, and policies to ensure the smallest possible number of subjects and the greatest commitment to their welfare,” The NIAID told Changing America in an email. “Institutions receiving funds, including those in other countries, must conduct research that involves animals in accordance with the Public Health Service Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals.” 

“The proposed use of animals in research is evaluated during peer review for both contract and grant proposals, and animals used in research are to be provided with appropriate anesthesia and veterinary care. The principles for what is — and is not — allowed are governed both by regulations administered by the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare and the grantee institution’s animal care and use committee (IACUC).”

The NIAID also addressed the photo of two unconscious beagles with “their heads in mesh cages filled with hungry sand flies.”

The agency insists that the picture came from a published manuscript from July 2021 in the PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases journal.

The study falsely attributed that the NIAID supported the research, to which the publisher later added a correction.

As Changing America previously reported, the Americans for Medical Progress (AMP) forwarded a statement arguing that NIAID supports testing on beagles to develop a dog vaccine against leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease that affects canines and humans. 

The NIAID confirmed this statement, stating leishmaniasis is a “threat in particular to U.S. troops and other personnel, as well as U.S. military dogs, in areas where the disease is endemic, and “dogs were the necessary animal model for the research.”

White Coat Waste Project previously claimed several separate incidents where dog experiments were funded under Fauci’s administration of the NIAID and adds new claims of another incident. The group has been particularly critical of Fauci. 

“[The thumbnail photo is ] from a dog experiment that took place at the NIAID’s in-house lab in Maryland in 2016. This is Dr. Fauci’s NIH division. To be clear, we’ve so far exposed five separate dog experiments funded by Dr. Fauci’s NIH division (NIAID) so far,” White Coat Waste Project told Changing America.

“In this one experiment where photos were taken, NIAID bought beagle puppies and strapped capsules full of infected sand flies onto their bare skin. [The] records WCW obtained [was] via FOIA [Freedom of Information Act] show that these were classified as ‘USDA Column E’ experiments, meaning that the dogs experienced pain but pain relief was intentionally withheld.”


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