(PresidentialWire.com)- A bill is being introduced with support from both parties to stop a horrible practice.
Every year, the federal government uses tens of thousands of animals in studies. Current practices sometimes result in the euthanization of test subjects, even if they are otherwise healthy or have curable medical conditions; this is the case even if the animals may be adopted.
Representative Nancy Mace argued that euthanizing healthy dogs, cats, and other animals in government research facilities when they might be adopted and enjoy happy lives was cruel and needless.
The Republican alliance of Mace and Senator Susan Collins has reintroduced “Violet’s Law,” named after a puppy saved from government testing and adopted into a loving family. This measure would require all government laboratories to develop protocols enabling animals to be retired and adopted out after testing concludes, according to the White Coat Waste Project, a nonprofit that works against taxpayer-funded animal experimentation.
Senator Gary Peters (D-Michigan) and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) are prominent Democrats who support the bill. It’s the kind that ought to have the support of politicians from all stripes.
They said they spearhead a rational, nonpartisan initiative to help government agencies retire and re-home animals when they are no longer required in publicly sponsored research.
Similarly, Collins said that government agencies shouldn’t be killing controlled lab animals that might instead be used for adoption or retirement.
She said their bipartisan measure would order all other federal agencies to enable and promote the retirement of animals to guarantee they are put in loving homes or sanctuaries, building on the successful practices at DOD, VA, FDA, and NIH.
Scientific and medical ethics surrounding animal research and the amount to which taxpayers should subsidize it are highly contentious topics of discussion. Therefore, it shouldn’t be contentious to suggest that animals used in this research shouldn’t be automatically put down if humane alternatives exist.
Many of these animals, like Violet, may find permanent homes with caring people or sanctuaries to care for them and maybe even cover their medical costs. The question of whether or not to do it first before resorting to euthanasia is a ridiculous one.
