{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://steube.house.gov/press-releases/steube-pens-op-ed-in-sarasota-herald-tribune-criticizing-fauci-s-animal-abuse/", "Steube Pens Op-Ed in Sarasota Herald-Tribune Criticizing Fauci\u2019s Animal Abuse", "2021-11-09", "2021", "2021-11", "Republican", "House", "FL", "W. Gregory Steube", "S001214", "steube.house.gov", "steube", "https://steube.house.gov/category/press-releases/page/", "scraper", "Steube Pens Op-Ed in Sarasota Herald-Tribune Criticizing Fauci\u2019s Animal Abuse\n\nSARASOTA, FLA.\u2013 U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) penned an op-ed in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune calling out Dr. Anthony Fauci for authorizing cruel and unethical medical experimentation on animals.\n\n\u201cLong before Fauci was obsessed with caging Americans in their homes in the name of \u2018science,\u2019 he directed the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to cage thousands of beagles in laboratories for cruel and unethical medical experimentation.\u201d Steube wrote.\n\nIn documents obtained by the White Coat Waste Project, it was revealed that Fauci\u2019s division at the NIH ordered cruel and unnecessary drug toxicity tests on dogs, many of which were beagles and other animals that cost taxpayers over $1.68 million.\n\n\u201cAs the proud owner of four rescue dogs, I am appalled at the actions taken by our government under the direction of Dr. Fauci. Between his mishandling of COVID-19 and unconscionably cruel animal experiments, this man must be held accountable and resign immediately.\u201d Steube continued.\n\nThe full op-ed can be found here or below.\n\nOPINION: Fauci must be held accountable for cruel animal research\n\nRep. Greg Steube\n\n\u201cLong before Anthony Fauci, the chief medical adviser to the president, was obsessed with caging Americans in their homes \u2013 in the name of \u2018science\u2019 \u2013 he directed the National Institutes of Health to cage thousands of beagles in laboratories for cruel and unethical medical experimentation.\n\nAccording to the Beagle Freedom Project, beagles are often selected as the breed of choice for animal testing because they are \u2018docile, people-pleasing and very forgiving. They are easy to \u2018maintain\u2019 in cages and do not have a tendency to bite when being hurt.\u2019\n\nIn a report from the United States Department of Agriculture for fiscal year 2019, 797,546 animals were used in laboratory research in the United States. The government is only required to publicly report the treatment of animals listed in the Animal Welfare Act of 1996.\n\nMost species of mice, rats and fish are not required to be included in annual reports of animal testing. Of the animals reported in 2019, over 58,000 of those were dogs.\n\nIn documents obtained by the White Coat Waste Project, it was revealed that Fauci\u2019s division at the National Institutes of Health ordered cruel and unnecessary drug toxicity tests on dogs and other animals that cost American taxpayers more than $1.68 million.\n\nThese taxpayer dollars funded barbaric trials that involved injecting dozens of beagles with experimental drugs before murdering and dissecting them. To make matters worse, these beagles were puppies between the ages of six to eight months.\n\nEven more heinous, reports were also uncovered revealing that Fauci authorized the vocal cords of the beagles to be cut so that they could not cry while being tortured. It seems that Fauci has a pattern of silencing those who protest his actions since he also silenced millions of Americans who opposed his draconian COVID-19 restrictions. At least Fauci couldn\u2019t slash our vocal cords to shut us up.\n\nUnfortunately, this is not the first time that Fauci\u2019s agencies have supported cruel experiments. In 2016 Fauci authorized experiments where infectious sand flies were strapped to beagles to feed on them for 22 months before the beagles were killed.\n\nDuring my time in the Florida Legislature, I championed numerous pieces of legislation protecting animals from cruelty and abuse, but never did I think it would be to protect animals from our country\u2019s highest paid government official. But it\u2019s true: taxpayers pay Fauci\u2019s $400,000-plus annual salary to oversee the unethical and inhumane torture of animals in our country and abroad:\n\nAfter learning about the sand flies experiments, I joined many of my colleagues in sending a letter to Fauci demanding an explanation on reports that he authorized funding for similar tests to be conducted on dogs at the University of Georgia.\n\nAs we learned following the aftermath of COVID-19, the National Institutes of Health and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases support foreign animal research projects abroad, such as the questionable experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.\n\nI suppose Fauci\u2019s thirst for animal abuse surpasses our borders: harrowing images have been uncovered from National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases files that show drugged beagles \u2013 their heads in cages \u2013 getting eaten by flies in Tunisia.\n\nMy conservative congressional colleagues and I sent a letter to Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, inquiring about its oversight on other foreign animal projects \u2013 and expressing concerns about the national security and human health risks of taxpayer-funded animal research conducted abroad.\n\nAs the proud owner of four rescue dogs, I am appalled by the actions taken by our government under the direction of Dr. Fauci. Between his mishandling of COVID-19 and the unconscionably cruel animal experiments, this man must be held accountable \u2013 and he must resign immediately.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:30:49Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://steube.house.gov/press-releases/steube-pens-op-ed-in-sarasota-herald-tribune-criticizing-fauci-s-animal-abuse/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3960001524537802, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}