WAN Exclusive: Groundbreaking Legislation Stops Cruel Primate Tests At The Department Of Veterans Affairs

In June, Congress renewed bipartisan legislation restricting funding for research on dogs, cats, and primates at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The historic law was first enacted in 2019 following investigations and lobbying by the White Coat Waste Project (WCW) and strengthened earlier this year to mandate that the VA “eliminate” all primate, dog, and cat testing by 2026, marking a significant victory for WCW and animal welfare advocates throughout the country.

The legislation is already proving to be a game-changer for animals. In response to the new laws, the VA has taken important steps by discontinuing all active testing on dogs and cats, as well as ending experiments involving primates for schizophrenia and spinal cord injuries.

World Animal News (WAN) has reviewed documents revealing that yet another inhumane primate test by the VA was scrapped even before it commenced, thanks to the advocacy and lobbying efforts of WCW.

Records obtained by WCW through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), shared exclusively with WAN, showed that the VA quietly canceled a controversial $124,000 project aimed at inducing eye disorders in monkeys for research purposes.

The records reveal that in June 2020, the VA’s Charleston, South Carolina, facility issued a $124,105 contract for cruel primate experiments at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU), one of the largest primate labs in the nation. The project, which was scheduled to run until June 2023, involved “leasing” four monkeys from OHSU, subjecting them to a high-fat diet to accelerate age-related macular degeneration, and subsequently euthanizing and dissecting them.

However, documents obtained by WCW revealed that in May 2021, the funding for the primate tests was revoked, effectively halting the project. An email from OHSU to WCW in 2024 explicitly states, “this project has been canceled.”

This development highlights the significant impact of WCW’s advocacy efforts with Congress. Through their work, wasteful and inhumane experiments have been halted while also paving the way for more ethical and humane research practices to be adopted within the VA that don’t involve animals.

“Our mission is to get the government out of the animal testing business, and we’re proud of the historic progress we’ve made to expose and end the VA’s wasteful and cruel experiments on primates, dogs, and cats,” said Justin Goodman, Senior Vice President at White Coat Waste Project. “The VA spending cuts we secured mark the first time ever Congress has enacted legislation directing a federal agency to eliminate animal testing across entire species. We’re saving animals and tax dollars, it’s a win-win.”