NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya recently announced on Fox News that the National Institutes of Health has shut down its last remaining in-house beagle research laboratory.
The closure follows a statement from Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk, who said on X that he would investigate federal funding of beagle experiments.
This move comes amid growing scrutiny fueled by a report from the White Coat Waste Project, which alleges the NIH lab conducted experiments involving the forced infection of over 2,000 beagles with pneumonia-causing bacteria, followed by procedures that led to septic shock and death.
FILE- The Humane Society of the United States previously helped rehome rescued beagles at the request of the DOJ.
Following the announcement, White Coat Waste Project president and founder Anthony Bellotti praised President Donald Trump for bringing an end to the controversial beagle research program.
Following the announcement, White Coat Waste Project president and founder Anthony Bellotti praised President Donald Trump for ending the controversial beagle research program. “Taxpayers and pet owners shouldn’t be forced to pay for the NIH’s beagle abuse,” Bellotti said in a statement. “We applaud the President for cutting this wasteful NIH spending and will keep fighting until we defund all dog labs at home and abroad. The solution is simple: Stop the money. Stop the madness!”
Shortly after the Trump administration returned to office, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in April that it would begin phasing out its animal testing requirement for antibody therapies and other drugs, opting instead for alternative methods using human organ-mimicking materials.
Around the same time, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lee Zeldin stated that the agency would reinstate a 2019 policy from the first Trump administration aimed at gradually eliminating animal testing.
During Trump’s first term in 2019, the administration closed the government’s largest cat lab.
Bhattacharya said People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) reached out to him following the closure of the beagle testing facility, sending him flowers.
“Normally, I think NIH directors tend to get physical threats, but they sent me flowers,” NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya remarked on air, referencing the public response to the agency’s decision to shut down its last in-house beagle research lab.
The move follows years of growing criticism over taxpayer-funded animal testing. In 2021, PETA drew national attention to reports that then-NIH Director Anthony Fauci had allegedly approved funding for experiments in Tunisia, where beagle puppies were reportedly drugged and had their heads enclosed in cages with hungry, infected sandflies.
After the reports surfaced, 23 bipartisan lawmakers—including Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C.—sent a letter to Dr. Anthony Fauci demanding answers about the disturbing experiments. “Yesterday, I sent a letter to Dr. Fauci regarding cruel, taxpayer-funded experiments on puppies; debarking before drugging and killing them,” Mace wrote in an October 2021 post on X. “This is disgusting. What say you @NIH?”
Animal rights groups have responded positively to the closure of the NIH’s beagle lab. Kathy Guillermo, PETA’s senior vice president of laboratory investigations, told Fox News Digital on Sunday night that the organization is “delighted” by the news, signaling a potential turning point in the fight against taxpayer-funded animal testing.
Animal rights groups have responded positively to the closure of the NIH’s beagle lab. Kathy Guillermo, PETA’s senior vice president of laboratory investigations, told Fox News Digital on Sunday night that the organization is “delighted” by the news, calling it a major step toward ending outdated and cruel testing practices. “We are letting the new NIH Director know how important this step is for modernizing science, and we’re especially happy because these last experiments involved sepsis, which we have been working to end for several years. Sepsis experiments on animals are failures,” she said.
Guillermo also noted that PETA has an active lawsuit—filed under the Biden administration—aimed at halting government funding for all future sepsis experiments involving animals.
NIH director Jay Bhattacharya announced the closure of the facility, which experimented on beagles.
The Indiana-based company that bred the beagles for research, Envigo, pleaded guilty in 2024 to neglecting thousands of dogs at its Cumberland, Virginia, breeding facility, and will be required to pay more than $35 million in fines, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
“We are just thrilled to see that the [Envigo] beagles who were used [at the NIH location], will no longer be used,” Guillermo said. “We first exposed [Envigo] in an undercover investigation that eventually led to the closure of the facility and the release of 4,000 beagles to good homes.”
Animal rights groups have responded positively to the closure of the NIH’s beagle lab. Kathy Guillermo, PETA’s senior vice president of laboratory investigations, told Fox News Digital on Sunday night that the organization is “delighted” by the news, calling it a significant step toward ending outdated and cruel testing practices. “We are letting the new NIH Director know how important this step is for modernizing science, and we’re especially happy because these last experiments involved sepsis, which we have been working to end for several years. Sepsis experiments on animals are failures,” she said.
Guillermo also shared that PETA is awaiting information about the condition of the beagles set to be released from the lab. If the dogs are healthy enough for adoption, she stated that the organization stands ready to help. “Dr. Bhattacharya has made a wonderful start, and there is a lot more work to be done, because animals are being experimented on, including beagles and other dogs, across the country,” she added. “So we’re looking forward to what comes next.”
The White House and the NIH did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s requests for comment.
Fox News Digital’s Emma Colton contributed to this report.
