Once a strong defender of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ “maximum pain” experiments on puppies, ABC Richmond reports VA Secretary David Shulkin has now done a much-welcome about-face on the issue.

In an interview with The Daily Caller–in response to a question prompted by Roger Stone’s recent op-ed on the topic–Shulkin stated, “I am not a strong believer in the need for canine research.” The Secretary went on to say he is implementing restrictions on the practice, though details on those steps are unclear at the moment. Watch the clip here (starting at 11:45):

Shulkin previously defended the VA’s taxpayer-funded dog experiments, but according to a report at DisabledVeterans.org, embattled VA communications staffers allegedly penned the op-ed and it did not reflect the Secretary’s position.

Secretary Shulkin’s change of heart follows growing criticism of the VA’s wasteful and cruel dog testing from influential veterans’ organizations, veterans, lawmakers, and taxpayers. DisabledVeterans.org commented, “This reversal is no doubt the result of joint efforts opposing fraud, waste, and abuse of agency researchers.”