A non-profit animal rights organization is calling out Dr. Anthony Fauci for supporting and funding animal torture. The Beagle Freedom Project is demanding an end to the “criminal” torture of beagles and other animals. The organization drafted a letter calling on Dr. Anthony Fauci and the National Institute of Health (NIH) to end their “scientific” research programs that torture and kill beagles. "If [the torture of beagles under Fauci] does not end immediately, Beagle Freedom Project will make sure it becomes criminal and those who perpetrate it will be punished by law,” said Shannon Keith, president and founder of the Beagle Freedom Project.
The Beagle Freedom Project rescues and rehabilitates thousands of beagles trapped in laboratories
The Beagle Freedom Project has reportedly rescued over 3,000 animals from laboratories that exploit them for pre-clinical research. Specifically, the organization has rescued over 2,000 dogs since 2010. The organization has saved and rehabilitated hundreds of beagles that suffer from trauma.
“I have been inside of animal research laboratories and heard the painful screams of dogs who languish in pain and the silent sounds of those who have no voice because their vocal cords have been cut,” said Shannon Keith. “I was told by one technician that they do this so that the screaming does not disturb the laboratory workers while they perform their experiments. They told me that they also do this so that the beagles cannot communicate with one another.”
Beagles are often used in pre-clinical research because they are more trusting, more submissive creatures that don’t fight back when harmed. Animal testing laboratories around the world prey on beagles because these animals are known for their gentle and compliant nature. Right now, there are an estimated 70,000 dogs in captivity, held down and exploited for laboratory research. Dogs are used in pharmaceutical research and may be used to test out medical supplies and cosmetic products, with no regard to the animal’s health or survival.
NIH wastes billions of dollars in pre-clinical research that traumatizes animals
The NIH is one of the top funders of pre-clinical research that uses animals as expendable test subjects. Dr. Fauci is head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAIN), a major branch of the NIH that funds and oversees experiments on animals for the development of drugs and vaccines.
One of Dr. Fauci’s approvals was a $375,800 grant to a Tunisia laboratory. The research project included forty-four beagle puppies that were locked down in mesh cages and eaten alive by sand flies. The beagles’ heads were locked down and their vocal cords were removed as they suffered to death. Another group of beagles were left alone in cages overnight so sand flies could slowly eat them alive. (Related: NIH confesses to funding gain-of-function coronavirus research in Wuhan, proving Fauci a liar.)
A 2019 study investigating animal experimentation finds that 51-89 percent of pre-clinical research is faulty and unjustified. The study finds that upwards of $25 billion is wasted on animal research that causes suffering and death to various species of animals. The latest FDA Modernization Act ends the animal test rule, persuading laboratories to stop using experimental drugs on animals. This animal research is oftentimes pointless, because pharmacological actions on animal biology do not always extrapolate effectively to human populations.
The letter concludes: “Dr. Fauci, the evidence is clear: animal testing is outdated, flawed, cruel, unethical and harmful to both animals and humans. We demand that you cease the use of animals in research, end funding to those using animals, and release those animals who are currently in laboratories to Beagle Freedom Project, the leader of rehabilitating and re-homing animals used in research.”
Sources include:
BFP.org [PDF]
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