USDA no longer experimenting on cats and kittensApril 3, 2019The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) says it will no longer carry out parasite experiments on cats and kittens, a practice that ultimately resulted in their being euthanized. The announcement comes weeks after U.S. congressmen Brian Mast and Jimmy Panetta introduced the Kittens in Traumatic Testing Ends Now Act of 2019. At the time, Mast said the USDA was breeding kittens for the sole purpose of feeding them raw meat laced with Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii), a parasite considered to be a leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the U.S. ARS says cats were used in the research because they are the only host in which T. gondii can complete its life cycle and produce oocysts. The kittens were then killed even though they were healthy. In May 2018, the USDA reviewed its procedures after hearing feedback from its customers and stakeholders. ARS maintains cats have not been infected with toxoplasmosis pathogens or euthanized since September 2018. "Food safety research in ARS is of paramount importance for agriculture and the public we serve," said ARS administrator, Chavonda Jacobs-Young, PhD. "We are continually assessing our research and priorities and aligning our resources to the …
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U.S. congressmen introduce bill to end deadly experiments on kittensMarch 11, 2019A new bill has been introduced to get the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to stop performing harmful experiments on felines. U.S. congressmen Brian Mast and Jimmy Panetta have introduced the Kittens in Traumatic Testing Ends Now Act of 2019. "The fact we need a piece of legislation to tell the federal government to stop killing kittens is ridiculous on its face, but what's even worse is when you hear the government is actually breeding hundreds of these cats just to intentionally feed them parasite-ridden raw meat and then kill them even though they're perfectly healthy," Mast says. "These tests are awful, abusive, and unnecessary, not to mention a serious misuse of millions of taxpayer dollars. This needs to stop now." "This common sense, bipartisan bill will require the USDA to adhere to the same animal welfare standards the department is charged to uphold," Panetta says. "While I strongly support scientific research, taxpayer money and federal resources should be spent on advancing scientific research in an ethical manner, not on inflicting pain on innocent kittens in outdated experiments. I hope this bill helps us get closer to ending this cruel practice.
