WCW report: $186M+ wasted & 115,000 animals killed in government tests

 

Last year, White Coat Waste Project exposed the National Toxicology Program’s (NTP) taxpayer-funded animal tests for so-called “abortion herbs” and cosmetics ingredients. It turns out, the problem is even worse than we knew.

This morning, WCW co-hosted a Congressional briefing in Washington, D.C. to release a new report exposing hundreds of wasteful NTP animal tests and calling into question Uncle Sam’s efforts to reduce this taxpayer-funded abuse. The bipartisan briefing was also co-hosted by Congressmen Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and Brendan Boyle (D-PA), both outstanding leaders on this issue who were recognized as 2017 WCW Waste Warriors.

 

As reported in industry publication Chemical Watch, WCW ‘s Toxic Testing report found:

• NTP’s most common animal tests have used more than 115,000 animals and $186,000,000 taxpayer dollars in current chemical assessments
• Animal tests comprise 82% of all NTP tests conducted for chemical evaluations
• Less than half of chemicals currently being assessed by NTP have non-animal tests planned; 100% call for animal tests
• Only 1 of 103 upcoming NTP tests uses a non-animal method
• NTP uses 100+ different animal tests, and only 7 non-animal tests despite approving over 70
• A lack of transparency and accountability makes it impossible to assess NTP’s stated goal of reducing and replacing wasteful taxpayer-funded animal tests

The report offers recommendations for reforms and also highlights recent high profile examples of wasteful NTP testing that WCW recently criticized.  This includes at least $25 million and 10 years spent to blast 3,000 animals with cell phone radiation equivalent to 10 iPhones all day, every day for two years. NTP also force-fed thousands of animals coffee and French fry by-products in doses 1,000 to 10,000 times larger than humans consume. Unsurprisingly, these animal tests were deemed irrelevant to humans.