Activist group opposes baby kitten slaughter; Congressional inquiry to follow
The White Coat Waste Project has obtained pictures inside the U.S.D.A. lab in Beltsville, Maryland where scientists breed and raise 100 kittens a year and then kills them.
White Coat Waste Project, a taxpayer watchdog group, discovered the experiments through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.
Federal documents detail how the Animal Parasitic Disease Lab takes 100 two-month-old kittens and feeds them toxoplasma-infected raw meat. Their feces is collected to harvest a parasite and then the healthy kittens are euthanized.
Justin Goodman, the Vice President of Advocacy and Public Policy for White Coat Waste Project says "I think most tax payers would be alarmed and disgusted to learn that they have essentially been funding a USDA kitten slaughter house."
The kittens are housed behind a security fence in building 1040 in Beltsville and 7 On Your Side would like to know why the U.S. government is killing kittens and not adopting them out. Veterinarian Dr. Katy Nelson says any sick kitten can be treated and it's rare that any kitten would pass along the parasite to other cats or humans.
Nelson adds “I think there is no reason why these kittens could not be adopted out afterwards with proper treatment of the kitten and proper education of the potential adopter I see no reason they couldn't find homes."
http://wjla.com/features/7-on-your-side/dc-group-claims-usda-kills-hundreds-of-kittens-a-year-inside-maryland-lab
