THE US government has announced the end of “kitten slaughterhouse” experiments in which cats were turned into cannibals and thousands were put down over 37 years.
The Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been intentionally infecting cats with food-borne disease toxoplasmosis and then euthanizing them since 1982.
The potentially deadly parasitic illness is caught from cats or tainted food and 40million Americans are thought to be infected with the disease.
During the controversial experiments, undertaken at USDA’s Agricultural Research Services (ARS) lab, the animals were fed infected meat and the parasite’s eggs harvested for use in other protocols.
USDA said the research helped to halve the rate of toxoplasmosis infections, which is particularly dangerous for pregnant women and those with weak immune systems.
The cats were forced into the cannibalistic eating of other cats as they are the only animal in which the parasite toxoplasma can complete its life cycle.
NO MORE KITTEN SLAUGHTER
Researchers would then test the cats’ poo to confirm the presence of the bug before they were euthanized.
More than 3,000 kittens were were put down over nearly four decades of research, according to the White Coat Waste Project (WCWP).
Veterinary groups have said the disease is treatable and the cats could have been adopted following their use in the experiments.
The programme is said to have cost the US government $22million (£17million).
Toxoplasmosis research has been redirected and the use of cats… has been discontinued and will not be reinstated
Statement from USDA
Last month the Kitten Act was introduced to Congress to end the practice, dubbed “taxpayer-funded kitten slaughter”.
In a statement, the USDA said that “toxoplasmosis research has been redirected and the use of cats… has been discontinued and will not be reinstated”.
Democratic Representative Jimmy Panetta, one of the key figures behind the bill, said the decision showed how politics should work.
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He tweeted: “I commend the USDA for their decision to end this type of testing on kittens. They listened to the people and responded appropriately to our concerns.
“This is how our institutions, our government, and our democracy should and must work.”
The 14 remaining cats in the programme will be adopted by officials at the department.
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News Photo US government finally ends ‘kitten slaughterhouse’ experiments which included turning thousands of cats into cannibals over 37 years
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