(Vegan AF) — In a recent policy change that quietly went into effect in November, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will now allow healthy lab animals to be adopted via shelters and sanctuaries. Before this policy change, lab animals would be euthanized.
An animal advocacy group called the White Coat Waste Project led an advocacy campaign highlighting the issue of how taxpayers are being forced to pay $15 billion to fund federal animal experiments. This organization has been instrumental in combating wasteful taxpayer-funded animal testing.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) spoke out in support of the FDA's recent policy change that now allows retired lab animals to be adopted. Collins was one of the lawmakers who introduced the Animal Freedom from Testing, Experiments and Research (AFTER) Act in 2019. "There is no reason animals that are suitable for adoption or retirement should be killed by our federal agencies,” said Collins.
“Our bipartisan legislation continues to build on the successful policies at DOD (Department of Defense), VA (Veterans Affairs), and NIH (National Institutes of Health) while directing other federal agencies to facilitate and encourage the retirement of animals to help ensure they are placed in loving homes or sanctuaries whenever possible.”
This new policy change will potentially benefit tens of thousands of animals such as monkeys, rabbits, cats, and dogs, In 2018, over 50,000 animals were used in federal testing labs. Lawmakers backing the AFTER Act are hopeful that other federal agencies will take similar steps to give animals a second chance at life.
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