Animal testing: US closes 'kitten slaughterhouse' after outcry

[Eugene]

Source: BBC

Animal testing: US closes 'kitten slaughterhouse' after outcry

3 April 2019

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) says it will stop killing cats in a research programme, following strong public criticism.

Cats and kittens have been used to research toxoplasmosis - a potentially deadly parasitic illness usually caught from cats or tainted food.

The animals were fed infected meat, and the parasite's eggs harvested for use in other experiments.

After the research the animals were euthanised.

Veterinary groups say that the disease is treatable and the cats should have been adopted.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-47795500

[Beringia]

1. That's great

I had heard about this issue, but not that it had been stopped.

[athena]

2. If everyone who is outraged by this refused to eat animal products,

millions of innocent animals’ lives would be saved. Anyone who is bothered by animal testing who is not already vegan should take a look at what’s on their plate this evening and ask themselves why the suffering of a cat, who kills birds and other small animals for sport, is worse than the suffering of a cow or a pig or a hen who never hurt anyone in his or her short life.