Lawmakers celebrated meeting a beagle rescued from an inhumane testing lab, committing to help stop taxpayers from funding such experiments on animals and working with taxpayer watchdog White Coat Waste Project (WCW).

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) shared an image of herself with a beagle with the caption, “Last week, we welcomed Uno—the first of nearly 4,000 beagles rescued from one of Dr. Fauci’s testing facilities.”

“Huge thanks to White Coat Waste Project for your work to end federally funded experiments on animals and help them all!” she added, as the organization, in turn, thanked her for working with them to “expose & close Fauci’s labs.”

“Taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to pay! #StopTheMadness,” they added.

Rep. Young Kim (R-CA) also met with Uno and shared pictures with the sweet pup.

“Made a new friend today!” she wrote. “Uno is a beagle who was saved from inhumane dog testing. Animals should be treated with care, not cruelty!”

Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) also posted a picture with the rescued dog.

“A special visitor stopped by my office today! What a treat being able to spend time with Uno the rescued lab dog and working with White Coat Waste Project to cut wasteful govt spending on cruel and outdated dog and cat experiments,” he added, as the photo shows him giving the pup some affection.

The reality of these cruel experiments came to the forefront, particularly, throughout the coronavirus pandemic, with all eyes on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) director Anthony Fauci.

One cruel experiment that made the rounds involved locking beagles’ heads in cages while hordes of hungry sandflies ate them alive. According to reports, researchers were testing an experimental drug for “disease-causing parasites.”

WCW revealed in the press release that these pups were “vocalizing in pain” during the experiments. WCE reported:

According to documents that we just obtained using the Freedom of Information Act (documents available below), Fauci just spent $424,000 to commission a study in which healthy beagles are given an experimental drug and then intentionally infested with flies that carry a disease-causing parasite that affects humans.

Further, in February 2022, WCW found via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request that revealed some of the puppies involved in the experiment were named after well-known celebrities.

As Breitbart News reported at the time:

WCW released the report on Tuesday after obtaining information from the NIH through a FOIA request. The 74-page document contains NIH internal emails and invoices from the University of Georgia (UGA) for 28 beagle puppies named after well-known celebrities like Bon Jovi and Snoop Dogg, and TV characters like Rachel, Monica, and Phoebe from the show Friends.

The watchdog group first documented the UGA beagle experiment in July of 2021. According to WCW, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), directed by Dr. Anthony Fauci, granted the university $424,455 in taxpayer dollars to do a lymphatic filariasis vaccine efficacy trial in dogs between Sept. 16, 2020 and Jan. 15, 2022. WCW says the tests were “unnecessary” and involved injecting the puppies with an experimental drug and intentionally infesting them with flies that carry a disease-causing parasite before euthanizing them. 

The issue did not end there, either. WCW also uncovered that the Department of Defense spent almost $1 million on cruel testing on beagles.

“It’s time to put an end to these cruel practices,” Rep. Mace said at the time.

“These barbaric and archaic practices must be stopped, and that is why we are leading the charge by introducing bills like the PAAW Act to keep our furry friends out of the hands of the NIH,” she added.

7News offered a positive report following the beagle visit on Capitol Hill, noting that “new data was revealed from Marymount University that the federal government is moving closer to eliminating the use of animals in experiments.”