Dr. Anthony Fauci is under fire over claims his division of the National Institutes of Health sent a $375,800 grant to a lab in Tunisia that locked beagles in cages so sand flies could eat the dogs alive.
The White Coat Waste Project claims that Fauci's researchers spent multiple weeks injecting the dogs with an experimental drug before killing and dissecting them.
The 44 puppies were locked in cages for nine consecutive days and used as bait to attract infectious sand flies that would eat the dogs alive, the report alleges.
Researchers are also accused of removing the dogs' vocal chords so they could work without 'incessant barking.'
Led by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), a group of 24 bi-partisan legislators are demanding answered and have called the experiments 'cruel' and a 'reprehensible misuse of taxpayer funds.'
The White Coat Waste Project claims that Fauci's researchers spent multiple weeks injecting the dogs with an experimental drug before killing and dissecting them
The 44 puppies were locked in cages for nine consecutive days and used as bait to attract infectious sand flies that would eat the dogs alive, the report alleges
Researchers are also accused of removing the dogs' vocal chords so they could work without 'incessant barking'
'According to documents obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request by taxpayer watchdog group White Coat Waste Project, and subsequent media coverage, from October 2018 until February 2019, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) spent $1.68 million in taxpayer funds on drug tests involving 44 beagle puppies,' the letter from lawmakers reads.
'While documents state that the ostensible purpose of this study was to 'provide data of suitable quality and integrity to support application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other regulatory agencies,' the FDA itself has recently stated that it 'does not mandate that human drugs be studied in dogs.''
The group of lawmakers is asking Fauci and his researchers to answer the following by November 19:
How many drug tests involving dogs have been funded by NIAID since January 2018? How much taxpayer money has been spent on this testing? Since the Food and Drug Administration has clearly stated that it does not require dog testing for new drugs, why has NIAID continued to commission testing on dogs? What has NIAID done to explore the use of non-canine and non-animal alternatives to meet FDA data requirements? Has NIAID ever made any dogs available for adoption after the conclusion of an experiment or testing? If so, how many? if so, why not? Why has NIAID contracted for cordectomies when they appear to be scientifically and medically unnecessary? What is the average cost for each cordectomy performed?
A group of 24 bi-partisan legislators are demanding answered and have called the experiments 'cruel' and a 'reprehensible misuse of taxpayer funds'
Fauci, NIAID and the White Coat Waste Project did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com's request for comment.
However, the nonprofit did release the following statement to Changing America:
'Our investigators show that Fauci's NIH division shipped part of a $375,800 grant to a lab in Tunisia to drug beagles and lock their heads in mesh cages filled with hungry
