As Matt covered earlier this month, pointing out that "There's Another Reason to Hate Fauci," the National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Dr. Anthony Fauci's division at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), used $1.68 million to experiment on dogs, removing their vocal cords before doing so. Now, Dylan Housman for the Daily Caller, who first reported on the experiments, is reporting that it's raised enough attention where 24 members of Congress, from both parties, have sent a letter to Fauci demanding answers.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) led the letter to Fauci, which contains the signature of 14 other Republicans and nine Democrats. It begins by stating that the members are writing "with grave concerns about reports of costly, cruel, and unnecessary taxpayer-funded experiments on dogs commissioned by National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases."
A particular concern laid out in the letter is to do with how an invoice to NIAID included a line item for "cordectomy" or "devocalization," to slit a dog's vocal cords.
The letter asks for answers to the following by November 19:
- How many drug tests involving dogs have been funded by NIAID since January 2018? How much taxpayer money has been spent on this testing?
- Since the Food and Drug Administration has clearly stated that it does not requite dog testing for new drugs, why has NIAID continued to commission testing on dogs?
- What has NIAID done to explore the use of non-canine and non-animal alternatives to meet FDA data requirements? Please describe in detail.
- Has NIAID ever made any dogs available for adoption after the conclusion of an experiment or testing? If so, how many? If no, why not?
- Why has NIAID contracted for cordectomies when they appear to be scientifically and medically unnecessary? What is the average cost for each cordectomy performed?
Other signers included Reps. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), Ted W. Lieu (D-CA), Bill Posey (R-FL), Cynthia Axne (D-IA), Nicole Mallitotakis (R-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Lisa McClain (R-MI), Steve Cohen (D-TN), Fred Keller (R-PA), Brian Mast (R-FL), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jimmy Gomez (D-CA), Daniel Webster (R-FL), Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA), Cliff Bentz (R-OR), Terri A. Sewell (D-AL), Andrew R. Garbarino (R-NY), Eric A. "Rick" Crawford (R-AR), Carlos A. Gimenez (R-FL), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Scott Perry (R-PA), and Scott Franklin (R-FL).
An October 5 blog post from the White Coat Waste Project (WCW), which included documents it obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, shared that, with original emphasis:
Documents obtained by WCW through the Freedom of Information Act show that Fauci’s division at the National Institutes of Health ordered cruel and unnecessary drug toxicity tests on dogs and other animals that cost taxpayers $1.68 million.
In the tests, 44 beagle puppies who were just 6-8 months old were repeatedly injected with or force-fed an experimental drug for weeks, and then killed and dissected.
The documents also show that the Fauci’s NIH division paid to have the puppies’ vocal cords cut out so they couldn’t bark in the lab while they were being abused.
To add insult to injury, these dog tests ARE COMPLETELY UNNECESSARY! The NIH stated that the dogs tests were meant to support a submission to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but the FDA has stated clearly as recently as this summer: “The FDA does not mandate that human drugs be studied in dogs.”
A subsequent blog post from WCW, dated just a week later, also noted:
This time, NIAID spent $1.68 million of taxpayer money to poison and “de-bark” 44 beagle puppies.
Fauci’s taxpayer-funded white coats injected and force-fed the puppies an experimental drug for several weeks, before killing and dissecting them.
These dogs were subject to some of the cruelest treatment imaginable. In a procedure called a “cordectomy,” sometimes called “de-barking,” the puppies’ vocal cords were slashed.
Why? So Fauci’s white coats wouldn’t have to hear them cry.
“De-barking” is painful and cruel, and opposed by the American Veterinary Medical Association. “Many veterinarians refuse to do the surgery on ethical grounds,” the New York Times reports, adding that the barbaric practice is rarely even taught in vet school. But NIAID is funding it — and you’re paying for it.
Various experiments on dogs entailed toxicity studies, having infectious flies feed off of them, drugging and infesting them with parasites, and drugging and locking their heads in mesh cages with infected sand flies. That last one took place in Tunisia, where NIH has no oversight and there are no laws protecting animals in experiments.
WCW has been exposing Dr. Fauci and his wasteful and abusive projects as head of the NIAID for months.