Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., told Newsmax on Friday that legislators "have to crack down on" animal testing by the federal government by passing her bill limiting "unnecessary and inhumane" experiments on animals.
Malliotakis and Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., introduced the Safeguard Pets, Animals, and Research Ethics (SPARE) Act at the end of last month, which would ban the testing of animals in federal labs with a three-year period to phase out animal testing and to establish a program to rehabilitate and re-home animals used in testing.
"The American people would be shocked to know that the U.S. government spends billions of dollars annually to conduct these unnecessary and inhumane experiments on dogs, cats, monkeys, rabbits, other animals, and some of them are just pure torture," Malliotakis said on "Wake Up America."
"We were able to stop successfully the experiment by the VA in which they were drilling cat skulls. They also had an experiment where they're infesting beagles with fleas — another agency," she added. Malliotakis called these experiments "completely unnecessary and wasteful spending."
Malliotakis said the SPARE Act "would end federal funding of these unnecessary experiments here in the United States and in other countries."
The congresswoman said, "Believe it or not, they were funding experiments in China, Russia, Iran. It's just ludicrous, especially after what happened in the Wuhan lab and gain-of-function research. We have to be cautious in those countries that have subpar safety conditions."
Malliotakis also noted that "there is an exemption if it's truly medically necessary and there's no other alternative. But we have to crack down on this. This is a perfect way to save money for the American taxpayer and, of course, protect animals for those of us who love them."
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Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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