{"id":779555,"date":"2025-10-20T08:32:53","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T12:32:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=779555"},"modified":"2025-10-20T09:11:54","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T13:11:54","slug":"peta-meets-maga-u-s-health-secretary-rfk-jr-takes-on-animal-testing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=779555","title":{"rendered":"PETA Meets MAGA: U.S. Health Secretary, RFK Jr. takes on animal testing"},"content":{"rendered":"

In December 2022, Congress ended the requirement that all new drugs must be tested on two species \u2013 usually mice and a “higher order” mammal like rabbits or primates \u2013 before human trials. The law, called the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 was the culmination of 40 years of lobbying by animal rights activists. \u201cNo animal should be used in experimentation \u2012 EVER,\u201d said Kathy Guillermo, senior vice president at PETA. “It is disgusting that medical research laboratories that are federally funded by HHS and the National Institutes of Health continued to torture animals for decades by using them as subjects for gruesome medical experiments and tests,” said Chris DeRose, founder and president of Last Chance for Animals.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has added another issue to his Make America Healthy agenda: limiting reliance on animal research.<\/em><\/p>\n

Criticism of animal research \u2212 usually associated with the progressive left \u2212 has grown in recent years, blamed for the slow pace of drug development. At the same time, artificial intelligence, which relies less on animal test subjects, has become increasingly important in speeding that development. Researchers have also created increasingly realistic disease models in their lab dishes, testing drugs on so-called organoids instead of animals including mice, rabbits and primates.<\/em><\/p>\n

Now, a couple of new initiatives by the National Institutes of Health are making good on that promise as Kennedy\u2019s Make America Great Again agenda continues to color outside the lines of the Republican agenda and takes up causes traditionally championed by some Democrats.<\/em><\/p>\n

The move could be a consequential intersection between an important wing of President Donald Trump’s MAGA movement with animal rights activists who are not typically popular with Republicans.<\/em><\/p>\n

But Kennedy’s move might help bring more independents and liberals under the MAGA umbrella, said Alfred Runte, an environmental historian and a former board member of the National Parks Conservation Association.<\/em><\/p>\n

“He’ll get more people confident in government. That’s what we’re lacking,” said Runte. “Most animal rights activists tend to be leftists. If RFK can make believers out of people that don’t want so much animal testing, I think that will certainly bring more liberals into the Republican fold.”<\/em><\/p>\n

Animal testing in medicine often fails to accurately predict human outcomes, Runte said. The Food and Drug Administration noted in September that “Animal-based data have been particularly poor predictors of drug success for multiple common diseases including cancer, Alzheimer\u2019s and inflammatory diseases.”<\/em><\/p>\n

In late September, NIH launched the nation\u2019s first dedicated organoid development center to create miniature organisms grown from stem cells that mimic human organs to reduce reliance on animal testing.<\/em><\/p>\n

In December 2022, Congress ended the requirement that all new drugs must be tested on two species \u2013 usually mice and a “higher order” mammal like rabbits or primates \u2013 before human trials. The law, called the FDA Modernization Act 2.0 was the culmination of 40 years of lobbying by animal rights activists.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kennedy, a longtime vaccine skeptic… could also tap into what might be called the canine-vaccine-hesitant demographic \u2212 where support for animal rights and anti-vaccine sentiment meet…<\/em><\/p>\n

In late September, NIH, now overseen by Kennedy, launched the government’s first dedicated organoid development center. With contracts totaling $87 million for the first three years, the Standardized Organoid Modeling Center will use and develop these cutting-edge technologies.<\/em><\/p>\n

The NIH is also now allowing scientists to use grant money to defray the costs of retiring or re-homing animals used in research, instead of killing them. NIH has long funded the retirement of chimpanzees formerly used in experiments, supporting their placement in sanctuaries.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNo animal should be used in experimentation \u2012 EVER \u2012 but this common-sense policy change finally recognizes that death is not the only option for animals who have seen the worst of what humanity can bring,\u201d Kathy Guillermo, senior vice president at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, wrote in an email to USA TODAY.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMake no mistake, this center will save countless animal lives while developing reproducible research methods that will lead to far quicker positive results for human patients in need,” said Dr. Emily Trunell, a PETA neuroscientist.<\/em><\/p>\n

When Kennedy first announced his intention to phase out animal testing, an animal rights group based in Los Angeles called the policy push “welcome but long overdue.”<\/em><\/p>\n

“It is disgusting that medical research laboratories that are federally funded by HHS and the National Institutes of Health continued to torture animals for decades by using them as subjects for gruesome medical experiments and tests,” said Chris DeRose, founder and president of Last Chance for Animals. <\/em>SWAPNA RAMASWAMY<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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