PETA urges US Prez Joe Biden to ask Anthony Fauci to resign; 'Need Animal-free research'

The United States top infectious disease expert Dr Anthony Fauci always hits the headlines either due to his controversial statements or due to his decisions. This time too, it is a similar situation wherein an alleged report by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) surfaced in which it was stated that Dr. Fauci was involved in the funding of controversial genetic research at China’s Wuhan lab. The matter has now taken a political turn as the report also pointed fingers at US President Joe Biden. As per the report, the Biden administration has funded experiments that injected puppies with parasites. As many as 44 puppies were used as a part of the experiment, as per an animal rights organisation. Some were also stripped of their vocal cords so that their barks were muzzled.

Speaking to The Hill, a representative of the White Coat Waste Project said that Fauci-led-National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) transferred a US$ $1.68 million grant to the lab to conduct the experiments in total. A second experiment included the dogs in California being injected with drugs, before being killed and dissected. Meanwhile, a third project saw puppies howl in pain while being experimented upon. According to a new expose from the anti-animal-experimentation advocacy group, the White Coat Waste Project, the National Institutes of Health spent $424,000 on a study involving the abuse of dogs, reported Fee Stories. 

Why is PETA forcing Anthony Fauci to resign?

The report alleged that the American physician-scientist and immunologist serving as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Chief Medical Advisor to the President of the United States, Dr Fauci has funded the experiment. The report states that he has commissioned a study in which healthy beagles are given an experimental drug and then intentionally infested with flies that carry a disease-causing parasite that affects humans, reported Fee Stories. Subsequently, the animal advocacy group urged President Biden for the resignation of Dr. Fauci from his post. PETA also urged its supporters to flood the inbox of President Biden urging them to seek the resignation of the United States' top infectious disease expert. 

Democrat leader also writes to President Biden

"We need PETA supporters to flood the president’s inbox with messages urging him to appoint a director who’s committed to bringing the agency into the 21st century by investing in cutting-edge, animal-free research methods," read the campaign of PETA. Apart from PETA, a letter that was signed by Democrat leader Cindy Axne and Republican Nancy Mace, in which the officials asked for a disclosure of the total funds that were spent on the experiments, was also sent to President Biden. "This cruel procedure – which is opposed with rare exceptions by the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, and others – seems to have been performed so that experimenters would not have to listen to the pained cries of the beagle puppies. This is a reprehensible misuse of taxpayer funds," read the letter.

Image: Twitter/@Dawna48664870, AP