Donald Trump found himself on the receiving end of a compliment by Kathy Guillermo, PETA senior vice president.
After the Trump administration announced it was seeking to phase out animal testing, PETA applauded the move.
Animal testing is something we all know that happens, but it never tends to be top of mind because it is not exactly something that is advertised.
That all changed a couple of years ago when reports surfaced about some rather cruel tests taking place under the leadership of Dr. Fauci.
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) put a national spotlight on this, writing, “I understand that at least five different NIAID-funded tests on dogs, including puppies as young as six-months-old, are planned for this drug and will involve invasive, painful, and potentially deadly procedures.
“Previous reports have detailed NIAID-funded experiments in which dogs had their vocal cords cut out to prevent them from barking during drug tests, were infested with ticks, and were sedated and placed in cages with infectious sandflies in a lab in Tunisia.”
Last week, the FDA announced that it was going to start to phase out a lot of these experiments and tests that involved animals.
FDA Commissioner Martin A. Makary, M.D., M.P.H. stated, “For too long, drug manufacturers have performed additional animal testing of drugs that have data in broad human use internationally. This initiative marks a paradigm shift in drug evaluation and holds promise to accelerate cures and meaningful treatments for Americans while reducing animal use.
“By leveraging AI-based computational modeling, human organ model-based lab testing, and real-world human data, we can get safer treatments to patients faster and more reliably, while also reducing R&D costs and drug prices. It is a win-win for public health and ethics.”
Anyone who knows me knows I am a huge animal lover, and with the technology we have available today, it is hard to justify the torture these animals go through during these tests, so I was very happy to see the announcement, and so was PETA.
Guillermo immediately supported the pivot by the government away from this type of testing.
She stated, "PETA applauds the FDA’s decision to stop harming animals and adopt human-relevant testing strategies for evaluating antibody therapies.
"It’s a significant step towards meeting the agency’s commitment to replace the use of animals – which PETA has worked hard to promote. All animal use, including failed vaccine and other testing on monkeys at the federally-funded primate centers, must end, and we are calling on the FDA to further embrace 21st-century science.”
With everything else that AI can do, it makes sense to use it here instead of harming and killing innocent animals. This is a great move by the Trump administration, and it is something I fully support.