Posted on 03/07/2019 12:34:03 PM PST by yesthatjallen
A bipartisan group of lawmakers will introduce legislation Thursday to prevent the Department of Agriculture from continuing deadly experiments on kittens.
"The USDA's decision to slaughter kittens after they are used in research is an archaic practice and horrific treatment, and we need to end it," Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., the Senate bill's lead sponsor, said in a statement to NBC News.
The agency has been breeding kittens in Beltsville, Maryland, and infecting them with a parasite that can cause toxoplasmosis, a food-borne illness. Scientists harvest the parasites from their stool for two to three weeks, and then euthanize and incinerate the cats.
The agency has said animal rights advocates' claim that it has been experimenting on 100 cats annually is overblown, but a USDA administrator told Congress last year that "2,988 cats have been used in these research efforts that began in 1982."
The bills are being championed by the watchdog group White Coat Waste Project, which has run an advertisement campaign against the experiments in Maryland. The group's vice president of advocacy and public policy, Justin Goodman, said its members "want this horrific program relegated to the litter box of history."
"Three-thousand healthy kittens killed and $22 million wasted on decades of cruel and unproductive government experiments should alarm budget hawks and advocates alike," Goodman said.
The USDA did not respond to requests for comment.
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
So slaughtering kittens=bad, but slaughtering babies=good? Some people are just ghouls.
“So slaughtering kittens=bad, but slaughtering babies=good? Some people are just ghouls.”
Good point.
And the slaughtering part only applies to the babies.
Research animals are killed under scrutinized protocols to minimize pain and suffering.
We are the masters of the planet. If animals need to be sacrificed for our health so be it. I assume that euthanized means humanely. Then I agree with the practice.
For sure......
Yeah man I love my little buddy.
Only friend when I was recovering from head injury.
But as long as it’s a needle and then permanent sleep, it is what it is.
Slaughter makes it sounds like the scientists gather round and use crowbars and baseball bats.
Just claim the experiments are post birth abortions. Problem solved.
Make it babies and the whole issue will evaporate like dry ice on a hot summer day.
How can you consider me a ghoul when I am against abortion?
I don’t consider you a ghoul. I was making a point that some in society now think it’s ok to slaughter babies, but that we need to pass laws to stop the slaughter of kittens. Both are reprehensible acts.
Fair enough......
I rescued a kitten that was born under a shed and whose mother was feral. I’m not a cat person. I really like my cat. I love my Dogs. I am opposed to inhumane treatment of all animals. I do hunt big game…successfully… but do my level best to make it as quick and painless as possible. We are the stewards of the land.
A federal law protecting cats ...
I know that’s why I vote for a congressman.
A relative simply drowned them when they became too numerous.
Others I know let feline distemper select them out.
W
Baloney. As an undergrad, I worked in the university's labs as a work study student. I witnessed some grad students drawing ALL the blood from a 100% conscious rabbit. Toward the end, the poor rabbit was screaming and thrashing around. Horribly upset, I asked them why they did not anesthetize it first, and they just muttered some rude put down remark to me. How is that adhering to any protocols to minimize pain and suffering?
A lot of humans are going to exit this place in a lot more pain than euthanized animals.
Doesn’t matter how much we are suffering at the end from cancer or whatever, we don’t get put to sleep.
I’m good with euthanasia and I don’t hunt but I don’t care who shoots what as long as it’s not me.
The meat would be very fatty anyway :)
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