- Following years of White Coat Waste (WCW) efforts, the Trump Administration’s Department of Defense (DOD) has announced that it is cutting funding for wasteful and cruel experiments on cats.
- WCW investigations exposed how the DOD has been wasting $10.8 million of taxpayers’ money to cripple and electroshock cats in constipation, incontinence, and erectile dysfunction experiments.
- The DOD’s decision follows pressure from Elon Musk and Laura Loomer. The cats victory comes days after WCW shut down the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) last in-house dog lab following a nine-year WCW campaign.
- WCW built a “strange bedfellows” coalition for cats by uniting MAGA leaders, Rand Paul libertarians, and liberal icons such as a Ben & Jerry’s co-founder.
- WCW’s top priority for Trump’s first 100 days was defunding dog and cat labs.
- Federal agencies under Trump are cutting wasteful animal tests in the US and China, uncovered by WCW, saving countless tax dollars and animals’ lives.
- First, WCW ended kitten experimentation at the USDA—the government’s largest cat laboratory. Then, we laid waste to all Veterans Affairs cat labs. Now, we’ve waged war on cat-a-strophic waste at the DOD—and won.
- WCW is the only animal protection organization to shut down federal feline labs in at least 40 years.
Following years of White Coat Waste investigations, lobbying, and grassroots campaigning, the Trump Administration’s Department of Defense has announced that it is cutting funding for wasteful and cruel experiments on cats.
The Trump Administration’s decision was prompted by WCW investigations exposing how the DOD wasted tens of millions in taxpayers’ money crippling kittens in cruel experiments in U.S. and Chinese laboratories—and that some of this reckless spending continued under Trump.
WCW uncovered how the DOD paid a University of Pittsburgh lab $10.8 million to:
- Sever cats’ spinal cords and paralyze their lower bodies.
- Ram condoms and marbles up the cats’ anuses.
- Electro-shock the crippled cats to get erections and defecate.
Senator Rand Paul helped us expose DOD’s cat-a-strophic waste in his Festivus report:
WCW started the lobbying and advocacy campaign to end it:
- WCW sued the DOD.
- WCW exposés sparked widespread media coverage.
- WCW passed bipartisan House legislation—the first-ever vote to defund the Pentagon’s cat abuse.
- WCW united a big tent coalition for cats: Elon Musk, Laura Loomer, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), and a Ben & Jerry’s founder.
- WCW rallied thousands of grassroots supporters to join the fight—donating, signing petitions, and demanding action.
RESULT: Hegseth cut the money.
The DOD’s decision also follows viral bipartisan advocacy in support of WCW’s campaign. Laura Loomer and Elon Musk supercharged our investigation, the latter of whom posted, “Will ask @DOGE to put an end to animal cruelty.”
On May 2, 2025, Elon Musk responded to WCW’s investigation—and made DOGE take action. It worked.
On April 27, 2025, Laura Loomer shared our investigation. Elon Musk responded.
WCW built a “strange bedfellows” coalition for cats. We united these MAGA leaders, Rand Paul libertarians, and liberal icons such as Ben Cohen, the legendary Ben & Jerry’s co-founder.
Now, thanks to leadership from Secretary Hegseth and President Trump, WCW has scrapped this cat-a-strophic waste to the litterbox of history.
Our #1 priority for Trump’s first 100 days was defunding dog and cat testing.
The DOD’s move comes days after the Trump Administration shut down the NIH’s last in-house beagle lab following a nine-year WCW campaign.
WCW’s latest win is great news for taxpayers and pet owners as it sends a message to big-spending animal abusers across the federal government:
