National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya confirmed on Sunday that the agency closed its final in-house beagle laboratory at the NIH headquarters in Maryland.
"We got rid of all the beagle experiments on the NIH campus," Bhattacharya revealed during an
interview with Fox & Friends on Sunday.
The White House press secretary
confirmed on Monday that the administration has permanently closed down the test labs accused of abusing beagles for more than 40 years.
NTD reached out to the NIH press office for additional details on the lab closures via email but did not receive an immediate response.
However, the agency confirmed the move on social media,
citing its new initiative that aims to reduce the use of animals in NIH-funded research and move toward a human-based approach.
“For decades, our biomedical research system has relied heavily on animal models," Bhattacharya wrote in an
April 29 statement. "With this initiative, NIH is ushering in a new era of innovation. By integrating advances in data science and technology with our growing understanding of human biology, we can fundamentally reimagine the way research is conducted—from clinical development to real-world application."
According to the NIH, the initiative includes the creation of a new office that will act as a hub to ensure implementation of its efforts across federal agencies.
Elon Musk, who leads the Department of Government Efficiency, wrote "will investigate" on
X on May 2 in response to an investigation by White Coat Waste (WCW), a bipartisan nonprofit government watchdog that aims to take down taxpayer-funded animal research.
WCW celebrated the shutting down of the government's "largest dog lab," and highlighted the organization's
investigation and nine-year campaign against it. The group discovered through its investigation that NIH recently extended funding for harmful septic shock experiments used on the lab dogs at the agency's headquarters in Maryland.
A WCW lawsuit recently uncovered records of 41 beagles killed by the lab from March 2021 to March 2022. Additionally, its Freedom of Information Act investigations found hundreds more veterinary records, protocols, and receipts for NIH dog purchases, according to the group. While the exact total cost and death count remain unknown, the U.S. government lab "has killed over 2,133 dogs and likely wasted millions of tax dollars," the organization said.
Anthony Bellotti, president and founder of White Coat Waste, said his organization was the first one to call on Trump to slash the NIH's animal testing.
He also noted that many such labs operated under the leadership of Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which is part of the NIH. WCW reported that thousands of beagles were subjected to “brutal” NIH experiments since 1986, many of which occurred while Fauci oversaw key divisions of the federal agency.
"NIH is the nation’s single largest spender on animal testing, and White Coat Waste first exposed billions in NIH boondoggles including transgender mice, sepsis experiments on dogs, kitten treadmill tests in Russia, cocaine-addicted puppies, Fauci's 'Monkey Island,' an NIH lab that frightens primates with snakes and spiders," and other experiments, Bellotti
wrote in a statement on April 29.
The GOP Oversight Committee
responded to the lab closure on social media, saying "the lab is SHUT DOWN after 40+ years of abuse."
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) celebrated the news, with a post on
X praising "the END of this cruelty." Greene also posted a video showing her meeting a beagle named Uno rescued from the abuse.
"After years of pressure, the NIH has finally shut down the beagle torture labs," Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.)
wrote on X. "Thousands of dogs suffered for decades. We've fought to end taxpayer-funded animal cruelty, and we’ll keep holding them accountable until it’s stopped for good."
The new NIH initiative that moves toward a human-based research approach marks a "critical leap forward for science, public trust, and patient care," said to Bhattacharya. The NIH director said he hopes the agency can regain the trust of the American public after it "leaned into lockdowns, school closures," and other measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bhattacharya also told Fox & Friends about the positive feedback he received: “I got flowers from PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Normally, I think, NIH directors tend to get physical threats!”
