Bravo! Congress Questions NIH Funding of Failed Experiments on Animals

During today’s National Institutes of Health (NIH) appropriations hearing on the Hill, PETA Courage in Leadership Award recipient Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard asked NIH director Francis Collins why his agency is spending nearly half its budget on animal experiments that fail 90 percent of the time.

Collins admitted animal experiments often fail—and that the immune system of mice are different from the human system—something that PETA has repeatedly pointed out to NIH.

Forty-seven percent—$18 billion—of NIH’s budget is wasted on cruel experiments that fail to produce cures and treatments for humans. Congress and this administration can make better use of billions of dollars a year by diverting funds away from tests in which animals are burned, poisoned, and crippled and redirecting them into superior, effective animal-free research.

Rep. Roybal-Allard is no stranger to shutting down wasteful animal tests. She played a pivotal role in ending the Coast Guard’s trauma training on live animals and has also pressured NIH to end experiments in which infant monkeys are taken away from their mothers at birth.

PETA thanks Rep. Roybal-Allard for asking NIH bluntly about its waste. We need every lawmaker to understand just how much money NIH currently squanders.

How You Can Help Take Down Cruel, Wasteful Experiments on Animals

Taking a stand against animal experiments is easy: Using our form below, please send a polite e-mail to your congressional representatives urging them to mandate that NIH stop throwing away taxpayer money on cruel, useless animal experiments and instead focus on modern, non-animal methods of research.

Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and informs the public on those issues. It does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.