VICTORY: U.S. De-Funds Wasteful VA Dog Tests

Posted by Justin Goodman
22 March 2018 | Blog, POW


The press is calling it “a win for the White Coat Waste Project, a nonprofit that frames animal rights as a conservative issue by linking it to the waste of taxpayer dollars.” 

President Trump has just signed a federal spending bill that includes a WCW-backed measure that will defund and restrict the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) wasteful and painful dog experimentation that is opposed by veterans, taxpayers, former VA Secretary David Shulkin, and Congress itself

As first reported by Stars and Stripes, the bill language–which Congress included following productive discussions with White Coat Waste Project, AMVETS and other veterans’ groups–prohibits 2018 taxpayer funding of VA dog testing unless it meets strict criteria and is personally approved by the VA Secretary, who has indicated he is seeking to phase out the practice and has already canceled several projects. 

VA’s current dog experiments–which have been widely criticized by veterans’ groups for failing to help wounded warriors–entail causing heart attacks in 6-month-old beagle puppies, collapsing dogs’ lungs, and cutting into their brains. The VA is the only federal agency conducting so-called “maximum pain” tests on dogs, in which significant pain is induced but not relieved.

Whistleblower photos of dogs subjected to heart attack tests at a VA facility in Richmond, Virginia

Veterans and lawmakers are hailing the historic victory:


In a statement, Marine Corps veteran Sherman Gillums, chief strategy officer for AMVETS, remarked:

“AMVETS commends Congress’s commitment to modernizing the VA’s research program by eliminating unnecessary, painful testing on canines. Many of the veterans we represent are dog owners. A good number of them are also veterans with disabling conditions who rely on trained service animals to provide assistance and independence. We’d like to see the VA follow the lead of other government agencies by embracing technologies that obviate the need to put would-be pets and service animals through painful experiments, many of which haven’t delivered a significant breakthrough or clinical benefits to humans in decades.”

This new legislation applies for 2018, but we still need your help to permanently cut the purse strings for VA’s dog abuse! Urge Congress to support the bipartisan PUPPERS Act to stop the VA from ever using your tax dollars to fund “maximum pain” dog experiments.

Blog Comments

that is wonderful news

Thank God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and thank you to all of the heroes that helped make this happen. Thank you to President Trump as well. I can’t even imagine what kind of sick mind would ever participate in this sort of thing.

Wonderful news….now to adopt these animals out. Not to murder them. They need to live with love.

Great! Thank you, President Trump! I am ever grateful!

Will these dogs and puppies be allowed to be adopted. Hope you won’t euthanize them they deserve to be loved.

Brenda is right. What happens to the current subjects? Please let us all know.

all animals are put down – unless you have someone on the inside who can help

I’m Thrilled. I have two beagles & know what a loving sweet dogs they are. No animal should ever be used for tested.

This is to say the least appalling in many levels, i.e. morally, ethically and spiritually. I would like to know who created this program and who is their right mind would follow orders everyday to torture and torment these dogs. Imagine getting up to go to work and thinking hmm I wonder what other dogs I will torture and inflict excruciating pain today and then go back home and sleep peacefully at night? I hope and expect that these dogs are able and will have the chance to get adopted.

Thank you presixent trump for stopping unnecesary experiments in innocent animals. I know why i voted for you. You continue to make me happy.

Please let me know these puppies and dogs will receive a forever home! They deserve to experience the kind, loving hand of a human and not one that inflicts pain any longer. Beagles are a wonderful family dog and are so smart. They could easily be trained as a service dog. I pray that these painful and stressful experiments have not harmed them permanently. I also pray that none need to be euthanized because of these useless and non-productive experiments. Thank you for your hard work in saving them!

I hope they allow these precious babies to be adopted. It’s not their fault heartless morons took them and abused them. All dogs deserve a chance at a loving home 🐾🐾. PLEASE ADOPT THEM

Again something has to be done well done president thrump please keep fighting you of all the people with your strength and and your demanding strong voice can sort this out ..come on ….its bloody 2021why the he’ll are we still testing and toutrchering and beaten these poor animals down …the become simply a shell and there mental state is on another level move on and test on man-made pieces

God, it always comes down to money. How about stopping testing on these animals because it is WRONG! It shouldn’t be about money being wasted! We already know that a collapsed lung is painful! We already know that cutting into a dogs brain is painful! Or pouring acid into a dogs eyes would be painful! So STOP THIS INSANE CRUELTY!!!
Oh and by the way, they KILL EVERYONE OF THE DOGS THEY HAVE EXPERIMENTED ON RATHER THEN TRY TO REHOME THEM!! EVERYTHING THEY DO IS WRONG!!!

No puppy or dog should ever subjected to experimental treatments!! This is subhumane!!
I am very happy to see that this will not occur! I have a beagle, and he is the sweetest dog I have ever owned!!

STOP,STOP,STOP doing unnecessary painful testing on canines. God job done, AMVETS👍👍👍

stop all experiminting and killing all our creatures no soul at all

Animal cruelty is a crime and should be stopped. Experiments on animals is outrageous and should be stopped now.

When will this abomination stop? It’s been proved time and again that what works on animals doesn’t on humans and vice versa yet universities keep them going-paying very well and repeating the same useless and abusive cruelty. Science is advancing fast and succeeding- the money would be better spent there and leave live experiments in the past!

I was horrified by the mindless cruelty being done to dogs. We must take good care of them & love them. They love us unconditionally.

The VA has no excuse for performing maximum pain experiments or any other experiments on dogs or any animals. There are perfectly good non-animal experiments that have taken their place. As a physician, I’m asking Congress to stop the animal experiments by the VA and the funding for those experiments. Do not use my tax dollars for animal experiments and see to it that proper sanctuary or adoptions are provided for the VA’s victims.

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