New Act Would Defund Painful, Government-Funded Experiments on Dogs
Animals in Labs Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Heidi Yanulis, LadyFreethinker.org
January 2022

If/When signed into law, this would prohibit the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from conducting or supporting any research that could lead to “death, irreversible damage, significant pain, or distress” to dogs. "The labs hate this requirement, because it makes what they do more accessible."

Image Credit: Csaba Nagy/Pixabay

[NOTE from SAEN Stop Animal Exploitation Now!: "This is simple to explain. Both Category D and Category E experiments potentially involve pain. The difference is that in Category D experiments anesthetics or sedatives are administered. Animals used in Category E experiments do not receive any pain relief of any kind. One of the more significant differences for the labs is that the Category E experiments require an explanation. They essentially have to justify why no pain relief was used, and in the process of doing so they basically disclose pretty much what the experiment involves. The labs hate this requirement, because it makes what they do more accessible."]

A newly introduced animal welfare law could help end painful medical research at the federal level that uses dogs as test subjects.

The “Preventing Animal Abuse and Waste Act of 2021,” or PAAW Act (H.R. 6186), sponsored by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), would prohibit the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) from conducting or supporting any research that could lead to “death, irreversible damage, significant pain, or distress” to dogs.

The legislation, if passed, would ban the agency from conducting any studies that fall into categories D or E under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s official pain levels — or procedures that cause pain to the animals. Category E protocols, notably, involve pain or distress “that is not relieved with anesthetics, analgesics and/or tranquilizer drugs or other methods for relieving pain or distress.”

The bill also requires that NIAID provide Congress with reports detailing all ongoing NIAID dog experiments — including how much money is being spent on them — and a report on its efforts to phase out dog testing.

The bipartisan bill follows an investigation by the White Coat Waste Project (WCW), an investigative nonprofit that has actively called out the NIAID for its questionable research practices.

“These wasteful animal experiments are opposed by a supermajority of taxpayers, Republicans, Independents, and Democrats alike,” said Justin Goodman, WCW’s Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy.

Mace said the PAAW Act will help ensure taxpayer dollars are put to better use.

“Americans across the political spectrum have been horrified to learn their tax dollars are being used to subsidize animal cruelty,” she said. “The PAAW Act will ensure taxpayer money is not used to support outdated and cruel experiments on dogs.”

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