Lawmakers are directing the Department of Veterans Affairs to end experiments on dogs, cats and primates by 2026. (Meredith Lee, Humane Society of the United States/Facebook) WASHINGTON — Experiments and testing on cats, dogs and primates by the Department of Veterans Affairs must end by 2026 under newly enacted legislation that lawmakers highlighted during a House subcommittee hearing Tuesday.
“I am proud to say that the Department of Veterans Affairs will be eliminating the use of research on animals within the next two years. We’re pushing the VA to find other scientific methods to conduct vital research and eliminate harmful testing on animals,” said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, the top Democrat on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee’s subpanel on military construction, veterans affairs and related agencies.
The legislation was part of the VA spending bill signed into law in March for fiscal 2024 and orders the VA to “implement a plan under which the VA secretary will eliminate research conducted using canines, felines, or non-human primates not later than two years after the date of enactment of this act.”
This represents the first time that Congress has directed a federal agency to completely end experimentation on certain animal species, according to the White Coat Waste Project, a nonprofit watchdog that works to raise awareness about government research using animals.
“A growing majority of taxpayers — Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike — oppose wasteful government testing on pets and primates and don’t want to be forced to foot the bill,” said Justin […]
VA ordered to end experiments on dogs, cats and primates by 2026
