INSTANT IMPACT: Senators Probe Dangerous NIH Animal Lab Following WCW Exposé of Fauci’s Tests on Zoo Bats

Posted by MaryAnn Hussey
08 November 2023 | Blog


Last week, White Coat Waste Project (WCW) launched a viral new investigation detailing how—at least a year prior to the pandemic—a shady Maryland zoo whose curator was a National Institutes of Health (NIH) animal experimenter shipped off bats to a deadly NIH virus superlab to be infected with a coronavirus first obtained by the notorious Wuhan lab that experts believe caused COVID. 

Days after our exposé broke, Montana’s Congressman Matt Rosendale (R-MT) introduced amendments to the NIH’s 2024 spending bill to defund some of the dangerous animal experiments at this lab located in his home state.

Another one of the first lawmakers to call for answers and accountability from the NIH’s Rocky Mountain Lab was Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA). Sen. Ernst has been leading efforts with WCW since early 2020 to defund the Wuhan lab, the disgraced EcoHealth Alliance, and other dangerous animal labs at home and overseas. 

Now, citing WCW’s recent investigations of the NIH’s virus superlab and its maximum pain Ebola and coronavirus experiments, Sen. Ernst has fired off a letter to newly-appointed NIH Director Monica Bertagnolli demanding answers about the dangerous bioagent lab’s taxpayer-funded virus experiments on primates, bats, baby pigs and other animals. 

The letter, which was co-signed by Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO), highlights the NIH lab’s history of security breaches and infected animals escaping and requests information about its ongoing collaborations with the disgraced EcoHealth Alliance, its ties to labs in China, and its involvement in gain-of-function experiments that can cause pandemics. 

Read the full letter below.  

Sen. Ernst led successful campaigns with WCW to defund the Wuhan lab and Fauci’s wasteful runny nose tests on beagles.   Sen. Schmitt is leading a WCW-backed bipartisan bill to crack down on taxpayer-funded animal labs in foreign countries.

We’re grateful for Sens. Ernst and Schmitt’s ongoing leadership in efforts to find, expose, and defund dangerous and wasteful taxpayer-funded animal experiments! 

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