Trump Phase-Out Revived as Agency Balances Scientific Rigor with Ethical Animal Treatment
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is embarking on a compassionate new chapter, launching its first-ever animal adoption program at its Research Triangle Park (RPT) campus. This initiative comes as the agency navigates a complex history of animal testing policies, seeking homes for animals used in research under the Biden administration, even as new leadership aims to reinstate a phase-out of such practices.
The move marks a significant shift from the Biden administration’s stance, which abandoned the Trump administration’s 2035 target for phasing out animal testing, citing the necessity of the practice for scientific integrity.
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However, with Administrator Lee Zeldin reportedly committed to reimplementing the animal testing phase-out, the EPA is now working to place as many of its former research subjects as possible into “loving homes.”
“As animals continued to be tested by the agency because of the intentional lack of progress on efforts to reduce animal testing over the past four years, the Trump EPA is working to get as many of the animals into loving homes as possible,” an EPA spokesperson said. The agency stressed that animals deemed ineligible for adoption due to exposure to harmful pollutants will receive “humane end of life care.”
The RPT lab, estimated to house around 20,000 animals, has already seen some successful placements, including two rabbits, six rats, and ten zebrafish. All adopted animals were no longer needed for research, had not been exposed to substances toxic to humans, and found homes with EPA RPT-affiliated staff. Notably, no experiments had been conducted on the adopted rats or zebrafish.
The EPA also confirmed that People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has requested to adopt 150 rats, and the agency will collaborate with PETA should those animals become available.
While the adoption program is a step towards more humane treatment, the EPA clarifies that it does not signal the immediate end of all animal research.
The agency’s website indicates that animal testing is commonly used to research the effects of chemicals on biological development, with some recent Biden administration-era testing reportedly involving the analysis of animal sperm to address the “worldwide drop in human semen quality.”
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This new direction echoes sentiments from the previous Trump administration, with former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler stating in June 2020, “The use of alternative testing methods will better predict chemical or pesticide hazards without relying on potentially fatal testing on mammals.” The current administration appears poised to re-embrace this vision, offering a glimmer of hope for the future of animal welfare in scientific research.
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