Email from the White Coat Waste Project

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You are receiving this email because you took action to end wasteful government animal testing. If you no longer believe in ending taxpayer-funded animal experiments, you can unsubscribe.

Taxpayer, thank you.

You stepped up. So did our grassroots army. And we covered our budget to stop NIH’s electro-shock cat torture at UC-Irvine!

I think we’re going to win, too. Here’s why…

Just a few weeks ago, WCW shut down lethal kitten tests at UC-Davis. Taxpayer, this is the exact same lab where UC-Irvine obtains its cats.

ICYMI, I’ve pasted must-read coverage of your victory below.

But we still have a lot of work to do…

An oppressive animal testing regime has infested our government. These white coats have a favorite holiday: April 15th. Tax Day is when they force you to pay $20 billion for wasteful animal experiments—whether you like it or not.

Taxpayer, there’s a phrase for this: taxation without representation.

Well, the WCW team also has a favorite holiday: July 4th.

You see, the Fourth of July isn’t just our great nation’s birthday. It’s also when the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) became law—a powerful tool we use to expose the world’s most powerful animal abusers.

From exposing and closing the U.S. government’s largest kitten lab, to ending Dr. Fauci’s beagle experiments, to revealing the origin of COVID at the Wuhan lab… FOIA is how we follow the money.

It’s how we WIN campaigns for cats. More on that below, Taxpayer.

Tyrants in white coats are to the 21st-century taxpayer what British red coats were to our 18th-century forefathers.

You and I just sent them an unmistakable message: Give me liberty or give me death!

Thanks,

Anthony Bellotti
President & Founder
White Coat Waste Project

P.S. Taxpayer, if you agree that it’s time to declare our independence from taxpayer-funded cat and kitten experimentation, please sign our new petition.

End Govt Cat Labs >>
Declare your independence from U.S. government animal testing here!

Deadly kitten experiments funded by NIH at UC-Davis halted after White Coat inquiry

Originally published by WJLA 7 News | written by Scott Taylor

Meet Delilah and Petite. The first two cats adopted from a Beltsville, Maryland lab in 2019, found a forever home with Anthony Bellotti.

The USDA shut down toxoplasmosis experiments at that lab involving kittens after Bellotti's White Coat Waste Project and 7News discovered the facility had killed nearly 3,000 kittens over 36 years.

In 2019, the USDA told 7News the research was necessary to fight toxoplasmosis, a disease considered a leading cause of death from foodborne illness in the United States. When all cat experiments were banned, the USDA said the research had reached its maturity and helped reduce the illness by 50% in the United States.

"Deliah and Petite were two of the breeding moms who were forced to become incubators and their kittens were abused, experimented and killed. For the last five years, they were my pets. They've been my pets. Part of my family," added Bellotti, President and Founder of White Coat Waste Project.

Bellotti's efforts led to the USDA banning all kitten experiments.

"Five years ago, the greatest moment of my life was leading the campaign. Exposed and closed the USDA's kitten slaughterhouse lab," said Bellotti.

Now, five years after the historic move by the USDA, Bellotti got a tip that the same type of research was about to start up again. This time at the University of California-Davis funded by the National Institute of Health.

"We were stunned when we found out that NIH was about to waste another $400,000 to repeat the whole experiment over at Davis," said Bellotti.

After receiving a tip, Bellotti's White Coats submitted a Freedom of Information Act request earlier this year to both UC-Davis and NIH. It revealed that UC-Davis Associate Professor Doctor Jeroen Saeij received $400,000 in grant money from NIH to fund more experiments on kittens.

UC-Davis Associate Professor Doctor Jeroen Saeij (UC-Davis)

UC-Davis has its own cat colony on campus that supplies kittens to staff for research. 7News has learned that UC-Davis is closing its colony of domestic cats due to the declining need for cats in campus research. Breeding ended two years ago and adoptions of the remaining animals are ongoing.

UC-Davis’s research proposal

Saeij was expected to start up the research again later this year after documents revealed he killed 10 kittens in experiments at UC-Davis in 2021. Dr. Saeji didn't respond to 7 News' on-camera interview request.

Protocol-Redacted

7 News has learned from both NIH and UC-Davis that Within 48 hours after White Coats' public document request, Doctor Saeij informed NIH he was changing the scope of his research to not include cats.

7News reached out to NIH who said it didn't have anyone available to speak on camera but emailed:

"It is possible that there is some confusion between multiple different grants that NIAID has awarded to UC Davis for research on similar topics. The grant to study toxoplasmosis to which you inquired (R21AI170976) is a two-year grant, which did not begin until 2022. After year two, the recipient organization requested an automatic no-cost extension of one additional year. This grant is currently in a no-cost extension, and the final Research Performance Progress Report (RPPR) is due in April 2025 [the recipient has 120 days from this Project Period End Date - 4/30/2024 - to submit the final reports or 8/28/2024]. However, it also worth noting that NIAID awarded a different grant to this lab in 2020 that did not involve the use of live cats.

Toxoplasmosis is caused by the Toxoplasma gondii parasite, which has a life cycle which requires both cats and rodents to serve as hosts. However, it can infect humans as well. Humans can acquire the parasite from consuming raw or undercooked contaminated meat and shellfish, drinking contaminated water, or having contact with contaminated cat feces. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that more than 40 million people in the United States may be infected with the Toxoplasma parasite. Most people experience no symptoms and are unaware that they are infected, but people who are newly infected with Toxoplasma gondii during or just before they become pregnant are at risk of miscarriage. Their babies may also be born with severe birth defects. In addition, immunocompromised people with severe toxoplasmosis can suffer from flu-like symptoms, or experience eye or brain damage.

To answer your specific questions:

1. On what specific date did Dr. Saeij and/or Davis notify the NIH that cats would no longer be used?

On January 31, 2024, Dr. Saeji requested to modify in the research approach and indicated that the change might be considered a change in scope. In this letter Dr. Saeji indicated that he would no longer use cats in the research to be conducted under this grant.

2. What rationale did Dr. Saeij provide to the NIH for removing cat use from the project?

The rational provided was that the UC Davis Veterinary School of Medicine had recently decided that they would no longer be maintaining a cat colony.

3. Did the NIH require any adjustments to the budget or for funds to be returned given the removal of cats from the project?

No, NIAID did not require any adjustments to be made to the project’s budget. After reviewing the request, NIAID determined that a change in scope was not necessary because the lab’s research goals had not changed. Specifically, the project’s objective of testing whether proteins expressed in sporozoites are involved in host cell invasion had not changed."

Doctor Saeij's grant proposal shows that he was going to euthanize kittens after his toxoplasmosis experiments had concluded but within 48 hours after White Coat Waste Project requested all of his research papers Doctor Saeij informed NIH he would no longer be using kittens in his research.

"Forty-eight hours after we submitted that crucial FOIA investigation they changed the plan. They canceled it and saved the lives of 10 more kittens at the new slaughterhouse and it's not going to happen now," said Bellotti

UC-Davis also confirmed with 7News Dr. Saeij's decision to not include kittens in his research 48 hours after White Coat Waste Project submitted its FOIA request. UC-Davis declined our on-camera interview request but did email:

"Dr. Saeij wrote to NIH [on] Jan. 31 to request a change in scope, to not using sporozoites (ie from cat feces) for Aim 2 of the project. See attached, I assume you’ve also got this document from NIH. As noted in the letter, work on the project had been delayed by hiring delays and the pandemic.

Best regards,

Andy Fell

UC Davis News & Media Relations"

White Coat is not the only one trying to ban kitten experiments.

U.S. Congresswoman Nancy Mace from South Carolina told 7News her new bipartisan bill called the PAAW Act if passed will cut funding at NIH to all testing on cats and dogs.

"What reaction do you have when you hear that UC-Davis and NIH tried to kick start the cat kitten experiments again?" asked 7News Investigative Reporter Scott Taylor.

"Well, it's disgusting. I have a really hard time just reading about the experiments they are doing on animals and what's worse is that a lot of the test results don't translate to humans as our biology is so different and it's really unnecessary. If you are a dog lover or a cat lover or a cat mom or dad you know how precious these creatures are," said U.S. Representative Nancy Mace, South Carolina - District 1(R).

NIH published 5 years ago research that showed mice could be used instead of kittens in toxoplasmosis experiments.

Just last year new research revealed kittens no longer need to be used as scientists can grow cells in labs to do additional research on toxoplasmosis.