Animal cruelty advocates say animals used by the federal government for research should be retired to a home or sanctuary instead of being put down at the end of their lab service.
Senator Susan Collins has introduced legislation that would require all federal agencies that use lab animals to have policies to retire them to forever homes or reputable sanctuaries.
Justin Goodman, spokesman for the White Coat Waste Project, says retired lab animals are resilient and can thrive in their second life.
"So this is a win-win for everybody. It's a win for the animals. It's a win for taxpayers because there's less cruelty and waste in the federal government and they get the second chance they deserve," Goodman said.
Goodman says since 2018 the White Coat Waste Project, with the help of Collins and other lawmakers, has prompted the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Defense, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health to create retirement policies for lab animals. But ten other federal agencies, he says, have yet to adopt similar policies.
