UPDATE: USDA Restoring Animal Lab Documents

Posted by Justin Goodman
18 February 2017 | Blog

 

Two weeks after White Coat Waste Project first broke the news about the USDA inexplicably deleting its animal welfare database, the agency has bowed to pressure from WCW and our supporters, bipartisan Congress members and other advocates. As reported in the Washington Post, the USDA has begun restoring access to documents about government laboratories and other taxpayer-funded animal experimentation facilities.

The USDA’s reversal of course is a major victory for animals, taxpayers and government transparency. We’re proud to have played a role in exposing and ending the government’s attempt to shroud $15 billion in taxpayer-funded animal experimentation in even more secrecy than is already plaguing it.

If you haven’t already, please urge Congress to support the bipartisan FACT Act to secure more transparency and accountability about wasteful government animal testing.

First posted on February 4, 2017:

Yesterday, the White Coat Waste Project was on Capitol Hill with a bipartisan group of Congress members celebrating the introduction of important new legislation, the FACT Act, to increase transparency about secretive and wasteful government animal testing.

Ironically, today we woke up to the discovery that the U.S. Department of Agriculture had–without notice or any cogent explanation–taken down its entire animal welfare database.


We immediately notified reporters and soon the story was viral with coverage from the Associated Press, Nature, Science, the Dodo, the Washington Post and others.

WCW explained how the now-defunct USDA website contained critical information about how many dogs, cats, monkeys and other large mammals are used in government laboratories and other taxpayer-funded experimentation facilities, whether they are subjected to pain, and whether the facilities are in compliance with federal animal welfare laws (a condition of receiving taxpayer funding).  While it was far from perfect, WCW relied heavily on this resource to identify waste and abuse, including for our high-profile exposé of dog experimentation by the Department of Veterans Affairs and other government agencies.

For months, we’ve been working with a bipartisan group of House and Senate members to improve transparency and accountability about taxpayer-funded animal experiments. Now, this work is more important than ever. With the USDA blackout, we have no way of knowing how many dogs, cats and other animals are being abused in laboratories.

This is not a partisan issue. A recent national poll found that two-thirds of voters—73% of Republicans and 68% of Democrats—want more transparency about taxpayer-funded animal testing and that six in 10 want to cut federal funding for animal experiments.

Please click below to write your members of Congress and urge them to cosponsor the FACT Act to secure much-needed transparency about taxpayer-funded animal experiments!

WCW FACT FB

Blog Comments

I’m so upset that I can’t breathe!

Let’s do what we can to speak for these poor innocent animals.

Please cosponsor the FACT Act to secure much-needed transparency about taxpayer-funded animal experiments!

This needs to be known and public!

Taxpayers – yes us! We are saying no to using our money to fund animal experiments! They are outdated and unnecessary cruelty.

Please stop this!

Animal testing needs to stop completely, it is a complete waste of tax payers money and is totally inhumane and now to put a block on the public seeing what’s happening is not right. Stop this abuse now.

With are ability to work with DNA….we longer need to torture animals for economic gain.

I am urging you to support the Fact Act. There needs to be transparency in animal experimentation. The animals deserve your support as well as my fellow taxpayers. Do not allow this censoring of information from this new administration. Be the voice for your constituents and help stop this madness.

STOP the USDA BLACKOUT – this is abuse!!!

Demand Transparency!

The innocent are counting on us.

Taxpayer dollars should not fund wasteful research. Hiding information from taxpayers is criminal!

This is an outrage!

Enough of tests and hurt to these precious animals enough is enough is enough.

Animal testing should not be a reality. It needs to end immediately!

Expose and stop the torture immediately

Please stop the unnecessary torture of animals in experimentation by the government. In particular what the of veterans affairs is doing.

Animal testing is no longer necessary!! These poor lab animals have no life…they simply exists! Stop spending our tax dollars for worthless & inhumane animal testing on animals!!!

Why don’t you use lSIS for your testing. The animals do NOT deserve to suffer.

This needs to stop! Its inhumane! People need to know where tax dollars are going. Theres a reason they keep this hidden. They know we wont stand for it! Shut it down! We are no better than China!

This is a democracy and we are entitled to know where our tax money is being spent.

No funding for animal abuse, being secret NO MONEY.

Be transparent. What is hidden?

Please protect animals

Stop the cruelty and waste of money

This totally cruelty must stop! Stop wasting taxpayers money on this insanity.

I’ve just learned usda information on animals used in laboratories has been taken down from government websites. This list identified how many and where these animals were being used. Please do something about this horrible hiding of information.

Disgusting to torture God’s creatures

Please vote to get this back in place. The animals need your help.

Please vote to put this back in place. The animals need your help.

Please increase, not limit, transparency in identifying companies that needlessly harm animals or violate welfare laws.

Stop the torture!

Can’t believe that “in order to promote transparency” you took down all the reports.

It is time for humans to end cruelty to animals and our so called representatives to ensure we have the means to end atrocities

Stop the Silence! Stop the lies!

Transparency. This is unacceptable.

What is happening is shameful. Animal testing is archaic and immoral; we need more transparency, not less.

There must be transparency and accountability in these matters of government paid animal testing/abuse. That records are no longer accessible is morally wrong.

This is not even necessarily just about animal welfare, but about transparency period. Animals have no voice and have so little protection to speak of as is. Their abuse, neglect, torture, and exploitation has always been kept in the shadows, and it was your responsibility to shine a light on it. Please do the right thing and allow the public to make informed decisions once again. Be their voice.

Let’s not keep going back in time

Animal testing and inhumane treatment must stop! Ans taxpayers havw the right to see what their money is funding. This is SO wrong!

Please stop torturing and killing g harmless animals that can’t help themselves. God created animals before humans and that should show the importance of showing them kindness and love.

Why are we still doing testing on animals? It is unnecessary. We should ban testing on animals completely.

WTH! Is the US government turning back in time,to the dark ages? How can transparency be recovered up. ,something v.dodgy going on here!!!

Please stop all animal testing this is so cruel to all animals, it’s shameful that our government let’s this happen & they pay for it with tax payers money.

It is humane to use animals for testing. In our day of technology there has to be a better way. Then to hide this information from the public by removing this information is intolerable. The people have a right to know this information.

Please STOP all animal experiments and testing this is so cruel and unnecessary. Why is our government paying for this with tax payers money and even allowing this to happen.

If they can suffer it’s inhumane. Transparency is necessary

Senseless torture, using our tax money

Stop the waste of my tax payer dollars and abuse of these animals.

Put back the websites so the American people can see what is being done and where. And stop animal testing as much as possible.

Testing on animals should never have happened in the first place.Testing is actually animal cruelty that is punishable, so why is government officials not charged for cruelty to animals?

The only way to truly know if a drug or other experimental things are going to work on people, is to give them to people who are willing to volunteer. I have been asked to participate in a medical research due to my lungs. It’s the ONLY WAY possible to FACTUALLY KNOW if a drug or procedure is helpful to humans.

I am sick of our tax dollars being wasted on this and thousands of other things that do absolutely nothing for taxpayers. I’m sure our tax dollars are still financing plane trips to read billboards in other countries, and financing to teach WEALTHY kids HOW TO PLAY GOLF. HERE I AM ASKING MY KIDS FOR FOOD because every cent I get HAS TO PAY NECESSARY BILLS. I DO NOT APPRECIATE MY TAX MONEY BEING SPENT ON THE UNNECESSARY TRASH government spends MY MONEY on.

ANIMALS, EVERY LIVING CREATURE GOD HIMSELF CREATED WAS NEVER MEANT to be TORTURED BY HUMANS. THESE EXPERIMENTS ARE A ABOMINATION AGAINST GOD’S CREATIONS AND HIS LAWS AGAINST KILLING, AND DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE OTHERS DO UNTO YOU. HE DIDN’T SAY JUST HUMANS, HE MEANT EVERY PERSON AND HIS ANIMALS.

I PROPOSE THAT WE TAXPAYERS GET EVERY OFFICIAL AND THE OTHER HEARTLESS PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THIS CRUELTY TOGETHER, AND WE DO UNTO THEM AS THEY DO UNTO TO GOD’S ANIMALS. LET US MAKE THEM TAKE THE EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS AND THE ENDURE EXCRUCIATING PAINFUL CUTTINGS. LET’S BASH INTO THEIR HEADS TO FIND OUT JUST HOW MUCH FORCE WILL SMASH THEIR HEADS IN, LET’S DO EVERYTHING THEY HAVE EVER DONE TO ANIMALS AND EVERY OTHER LIVING CREATURE. . I WILL BE OVER JOYED TO DO IT EVERYTHING THEY HAVE FORCED ON ANIMALS.

I AM SURE THAT WOULD PUT A STOP TO THE INHUMANE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS AND ALL CREATURES. ….VERY QUICKLY.

If this uses tax payer funded money then we should be given the right ( as a tax payer ) how are money is being used ( without are approval ) all information reguarding what these experiments are about. Not being secretive about any of it. Plus we should be told that are money is being used for and asked if they may use our money for this use. This is not ok. All information should be given up at the time and we as the people should be asked if we want our money used for those reasons. This should not be allowed without our knowledge or approval. I am against this type of thing and would not want my tax payer money being used in this manner. Shame on this type of nondiscloser

Transparency is essential to prevent unnecessary cruelty to animals in labs.

For years there have been ways to test chemicals without using animals. What are we – barbarians? Using animal testing at this point is simply allowing sadist to get grants.

This should be stopped immediately. It is a travesty and should be outlawed.

I want my taxes to support life enriching programs like the arts and public radio and television. These are a tiny portion of the federal budget. They should not be cut, but money earmarked for animal experimentation is NOT where I want my taxes to go. Animal experimentation is wasteful and cruel! Stop spending my money to torture animals!

Please stop animal experiments!! This is only one reason I did not vote for Trump! Science does not need animals! Taxpayers don’t want to pay for animal abuse! Would you do this to your children, really!

expose the labs that take part in this practice

Please stop using taxpayer money to fund inhumane animal experiments. There is no need to subject animals to horrid experiments in this day and age.

I am appalled that my tax-paying dollars are going to making animals suffer. This is totally outrageous. There are special models and similators that are now available to use to conduct more effective testing as well as reaching more accurate results. Make use of these devices and stop hurting animals now!!

It is time for this to stop using animals. It is cruel. There are other ways as noted below!

Compassionate action: Stop animal testing

There are other ways for example modern cell based and cumputerized

Hurting Animals for any reason, is horrific… but for the Tax payer’s to be paying for them to be abused is totally out of line. If I thought my tax money was going to injure any animal, I’d stop paying tax’s. I certainly would not vote for anyone who backed such abuse and injury to inocent animals. STOP THE FUNDING NOW!!!

We should not have to use animals for these experiments. We are not better than them. It is cruel and inhumane.

Stop animal testing.

Stop unncessary testing on innocent animals . These test are cruel and inhumane . Today’s technology allows the opportunity for more humane and acceptable testing . Besides the obvious reasons to stop this it has proven thst these test show inconclusive and inaccurate results due to the different genetic makeup between humans and animals , therefore these test are useless and animals suffer for nothing ! We will not stop fighting until this is stopped !

please stop this never ending cycle of animal abuse! Stand up for their rights

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOP ALLLLLLLLLL ANIMAL CRUELTY.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE STOP ALL ANIMAL TESTING.

This should be completely transparent. He public needs to be informed and have access to this information.
Animal testing has been proven to be completely inhumane and waste of taxpayer funds. Scientifically, other methods of testing have been proven to be more accurate and useful.
Be

Its 2017 and this needs to stop, animals are not disposable items or property to be used in cruel and inhumane testing , experiments or any type of scientific way or for cosmetic purposes etc,…We protest the dog and cats eating festivals in foreign co and thier cruel & unimaginable treatment and how they are tortured , beaten, and I can not even write more on this because it makes me sick and I want to burst into tears. We have stopped just about all the circuses now (The Biggest of All Finally), we are trying to close zoo’s here and around the world , working on ending all & any mistreatment of animals , they are living breathing being and so very precious, they feel , just because they don’t express themselves like we do , Does not give us the right to hurt them in any way shape or form. We should as a nation be ashamed , We ask that mistreatment is banished in other places , countries around this world , Yet we as Americans are doing nothing but committing these same types of actions ourselves . SHAME ON US !! for allowing this to still be acceptable, well its no longer acceptable and MUST STOP ASAP !

No animal abuse is ok. No constant killing, torture and testing on ANY living species is OK.
Its SIMPLY WRONG for humans to use other LIVING beings to hurt any others. Its SICK !!!!

It is simply wrong for one species to perpetrate HURTFUL experiments/tests on any other species living. It is NOT OK for people to HURT,ABUSE,KILL animals for any reason. We are the STEWARDS of this earth and all beings living on it…..STOP torturing animals.
We will not allow solders to torture other soldiers…..why is torturing animals ok….its NOT!!

NO WE WILL NOT BE QUIET ON WASTE,TORURE AND INJUSTICE.EVIL WILL NOT PREVAIL.

EVIL WILL NOT PREVAIL,DECENCY JUSTICE AND TRUTH WILL.

Humame is the only way.

No more animal experiments. No need to hurt innocent beings.

Stop torturing animals

The blackout on information from APHIS Animal Welfare is wrong and dangerous for animals. This issue is all over Twitter and social media. Please tell us to remedy this.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” The United States will never be a great nation as long as it continues to abuse torture animals in the name of science. This must stop NOW!

Animal torture in the name of science is no longer acceptable. We are screaming out on their behalf. Science of the 21st century has eliminated the cruel methods of the past. It must sstop!

Stop animal testing immediately

testing is cruel and not necessary

stop this cruelty once and for all

Members of Congress, I am asking you all to muster up some compassion for the animals in labs. Without any transparency the public has no way to know how much pain and suffering they are experiencing. In addition,
since these experiments are wasteful in terms of funding, it should please our Republican friends to save some
money by shutting down these activities. Or, are you in the pocket of vested interests who give no thought to the suffering imposed on sentient creatures. Surely not! ????? This abuse must stop!

It’s such a completely needless “thing ” to do for animals, please stop it now.

It’s a needless thing to do to animals, totally inhuman to do, STOP IT NOW?

Please publicly and actively support this legislation. This program profoundly cruel, immoral and inexcusable.

Please publicly and actively support this important legislation.

I do not want any of my tax dollars to go toward experimenting on any animals.

Please support the FACT act. Transparency in animal testing is crucial. Only based on facts can we make good decisions about animal testing, which is being shown to be less effective and more expensive than non-animal-based trsting.

Please support the FACT ACT.

Please cosponsor this bill!

Stop the abuse!

This is totally wrong and outrages.

Stop this unnecessary and cruel practice. We, as a country, are supposed to be better than this

Thank you for all of the time and effort you have put in to expose this unacceptable and unnecessary abuse. Please do not stop until it is stopped.

STOP THIS NOW!!!!!!!!!

Animals should never be abused. They are all that is good about the earth. It is too bad more humans weren’t like them. Clearly whoever took this website down has no morals or values.

No creature deserves to be subjected to torturous experiments. I don’t want my tax dollars spent in this unthinkable way. Please put an end to animal experimentation.

Please vote for the FACT ACT for transparency on the animal experiments that take place funded by taxpayers money. These are cruel and needless experiments. There are other more modern methods not using animals available. Thank you.

Please stop testing on innocent animals!

Please Support the FACT ACT.this is the year 2017.Animal testing needs to stop completely.It’s a waist of time and taxpayers money.It’s inhumane and to now put a block on the public seeing what’s happening is not right at all.It just shows you all know it’s wrong and want to hide it.we are better than this.The animals deserve better.They can’t speak for themselves. It is up to us to change this.We are a better country then this.So show us

It is time to stop. There other ways

Stop not more .cruelty. not more experiment. Would be free. I am protection the animals. The rabbit and other animals not be thing’s Freedom

It’s horrific! The Trump administration Neanderthals are taking our country back 200 years. Tax funded torture-wake up people… we are in for four years of hell, let alone what the poor animals will suffer.

Nothing is gained by torturing animals in the name of science

Close this down immediately

Take this down immediately!

Please take this down immediately!

Sad.

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