Houston Daily

Congressman Troy E. Nehls and Anthony Bellotti, founder of the White Coat Waste Project (WCW), have co-authored an op-ed in Townhall, commending President Donald J. Trump’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director, Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, for ending beagle experiments on the NIH campus. This decision concludes four decades of taxpayer-funded testing on beagles.

The op-ed highlights their efforts to hold the NIH accountable and eliminate these experiments. "Following years of our efforts," they wrote, "President Donald J. Trump’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya recently took to the airwaves and announced, 'We got rid of all the beagle experiments on NIH campus.'"

Previously, during Trump's first term, a major cat experimentation lab at the U.S. Department of Agriculture was closed down, and dog and cat testing at the Department of Veterans Affairs was also ended.

White Coat Waste first exposed issues at this facility in 2016 through Freedom of Information Act requests and lawsuits that revealed details about over 2,100 beagles abused in these labs.

Nehls and Bellotti criticized the Biden administration for approving continued funding for such projects despite bipartisan opposition from Congress and public support against them.

They noted recent actions by Trump's Pentagon as well: "This past weekend, the Department of Defense (DOD) announced on X that it canceled a recently-renewed grant for cruel $10 million experiments on cats."

The op-ed further outlines ongoing issues with other pet abuse projects funded by taxpayers but expresses hope due to current leadership changes at federal agencies.

In conclusion, Nehls and Bellotti state: "Now our message to every federal agency is simple: Not one more dog. Not one more dime."