Foreign Laboratories Have Tormented and Killed Animals for Decades—And You’ve Paid for It
These are details about just a few experiments at overseas institutions funded by the NIH.
Year after year, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has sent taxpayer dollars to laboratories around the world to confine, torment, and kill thousands of animals in experiments that do nothing to advance human health. The Cease Animal Research Grants Overseas (CARGO) Act (HR 1085) would save millions of dollars and spare countless animals suffering and death.
Australia
Experimenters infected animals with the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis, a disease characterized by fever, diarrhea, and seizures, among other symptoms.
Institution: The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $1,546,428
Year: 2023-2025
Experimenters used 1,485 mice, 314 rats, and 80 beagles to test a molecule supposed to treat opioid withdrawal. Most of these animals were forced to become addicted to opioids.
Institution: Kinoxis Therapeutics, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Price Tag: $5,952,408
Year: 2019–2024
Experimenters infected bats with a highly harmful virus.
Institution: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $296,288
Year: 2022–2023
Experimenters surgically implanted catheters in the bladders of 24 rats, then infused saline solution into the bladders to force the animals to urinate constantly.
Institution: University of Melbourne, funded by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
Price Tag: $1,260,408
Year: 2019–2024
Experimenters infected monkeys with tuberculosis.
Institution: University of Sydney, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $8,164,476
Year: 2022–2024
Experimenters injected monkeys with influenza vaccines.
Institution: Vaxine Pty Ltd, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $6,368,354
Year: 2018–2020
Argentina
Institution: Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $400,600
Year: 2022–2024
Canada
Experimenters caused third-degree burns in mice by exposing 30% of their bodies to water heated to 95°C (203°F). “Experimenters cut open the stomachs of burnt mice, extracted fat tissue, and transplanted it into “recipient mice.”
Institution: Hamilton Health Sciences, funded by the National Institute of Aging
Price Tag: $1,237,631
Year: 2022–2024
Experimenters injected mice with cancerous cells to produce tumors.
Institution: University Health Network, funded by the National Cancer Institute
Price Tag: $1,462,261
Year: 2021–2024
Experimenters subjected pigs to lung transplants.
Institution: University Health Network, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $1,190,652
Year: 2024–2025
Figures 1, 2, 3 | Pig lung transplant survival model. | Mariscal, A., Caldarone, L., Tikkanen, J. et al. Pig lung transplant survival model. Nat Protoc 13, 1814–1828 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41596-018-0019-4
Experimenters cut the vocal cords of 12 rabbits and inserted a spatula “several times to exacerbate inflammation and scarring to ensure adequate injury.”
Institution: McGill University, funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Price Tag: $6,512,269
Year: 2008–2025
Experimenters injected brain or spinal cord tissue from a deer who died of chronic wasting disease into the brains of female, transgenic mice, and bank voles.
“At terminal stage of disease, clinical mice and bank voles were exhibiting rigid tail, rough coat, gait abnormalities, ataxia [loss of muscle control], kyphosis [hunched back], and cycles of weight loss and gain.” Two of the mice were found dead.
Institution: University of Calgary, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Price Tag: $1,071,900
Year: 2021–2024
This mouse is shaking and unable to move after NIH-funded experimenters in Canada infected her with the prion that causes chronic wasting disease in deer.
Credit: Supplementary file 3 | Transmission of cervid prions to humanized mice demonstrates the zoonotic potential of CWD | Samia Hannaoui, Irina Zemlyankina, Sheng Chun Chang, Maria Immaculata Arifin, Vincent Béringue, Debbie McKenzie, Hermann M. Schatzl, Sabine Gilch | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Experimenters injected experimental substances into mice’s tails, gassed them, and broke their necks.
Institution: Simon Fraser University, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $3,863,406
Year: 2009–2010; 2017–2024
Experimenters injected acid into the brains of baby rats to induce seizures.
Institution: University of Prince Edward Island, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Price Tag: $315,394
Year: 2018–2019
Experimenters infected 45 female mice with gonorrhea.
Institution: University of Calgary, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $4,351,990
Year: 2019–2024
Experimenters gave young mice “recreational-like” and “Adderall-like” doses of amphetamines, injected viruses into their brains, and decapitated them weeks later.
Institution: McGill University, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Price Tag: $2,467,050
Year: 2015–2024
Experimenters genetically modified mice’s embryos and took biopsies from mice’s ears.
Institution: University of Saskatchewan, funded by the National Institute of Aging
Price Tag: $107,477
Year: 2022–2023
Experimenters injected a substance into a mouse eye, gassed him, cut him open, and drew all the blood from his heart “as secondary form of euthanasia.” Figure 1 | Retro-orbital CD45 antibody labeling to evaluate antibody-secreting cell trafficking in mice. | KimAnh Pioli, Peter Pioli | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Institution: University of Western Ontario, funded by the NIH Office of Director
Price Tag: $970,720
Year: 2019–2022
Experimenters injected cancer cells into immunocompromised female mice to develop tumors (pointed by white arrows).
Figure 4 | Imaging CAR-NK cells targeted to HER2 ovarian cancer with human sodium-iodide symporter-based positron emission tomography. | Nourhan Shalaby, Ying Xia, John Kelly, Rafael Sanchez-Pupo, Francisco Martinez, Matthew Fox, Jonathan Thiessen, Justin Hicks, Timothy Scholl, John A Ronald | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Experimenters genetically modified mice, killed them, and removed their eyes.
Institution: McMaster University, funded by the National Eye Institute
Price Tag: $2,824,041
Year: 2015–2023
Experimenters manipulated cats’ genes to create leg deformities.
Institution: University of Calgary, funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Price Tag: $107,946
Year: 2019–2020
Grant: An animal model for identifying regulatory sequences of the human SHOX gene.
Experimenters force-fed human feces to mice, then killed them and removed their brains.
Institution: McMaster University, funded by the National Eye Institute
Price Tag: $2,352,212
Year: 2015–2019
Experimenters removed the eyes of baby mice.
Institution: University of British Columbia, funded by the National Eye Institute
Price Tag: $4,807,540
Year: 1985–2017
Experimenters electroshocked rats to induce “fear and anxiety,” drilled holes in their skulls, and implanted electrodes in their brains. Finally, they killed the animals.
Institution: The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health
Price Tag: $307,256
Year: 2016–2017
Experimenters injected a substance into the brains of transgenic and wild-type female mice, which made them suffer from hypothermia. Experimenters administered a substance into the brains of male rats, forced opioids down their throats, and decapitated them.
Institution: University of Toronto, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Price Tag: $1,476,221
Year: 2018–2022
Experimenters caused strokes in rats and monkeys. Some animals died within 18 to 24 hours, and others suffered brain hemorrhages.
Institution: University Health Network, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Price Tag: $3,771,814
Year: 2014–2017
Chile
Experimenters injected alcohol into mice’s bellies and subjected them to behavioral tests. In other procedures, experimenters forced mice to drink alcohol, injected viral substances into their brains, and killed them.
Institution: Universidad de Concepción, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Price Tag: $2,380,836
Year: 1991–93; 2004–10; 2017–21
Mice are grabbed by their tails and suspended upside down after being administered alcohol, as if their panicked response to this cruel test could explain anything about human addiction to alcohol.
Associated data: Characterization of the behavior of the KI α2 mice | Reduced sedation and increased ethanol consumption in knock-in mice expressing an ethanol insensitive alpha 2 subunit of the glycine receptor. | S Gallegos, L San Martin, A Araya, DM Lovinger, GE Homanics, LG Aguayo | © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to American College of Neuropsychopharmacology 2020
Colombia
Experimenters infected monkeys and mice with the parasite that causes malaria. The animals were abandoned to die in filthy cages and denied veterinary care.
Institution: Caucaseco Scientific Research Center and Malaria Vaccine and Development Center, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
Price Tag: $17,649,491
Year: 2003–2023
Owl monkeys and mice were confined to filthy cages and abandoned to die without veterinary care at an NIH-funded facility in Colombia.
Finland
Experimenters restrained fully awake rats, implanted more than 500 electrodes in their brains, and forced the animals to live like this for months.
Institution: University of Helsinki, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Price Tag: $422,943
Year: 2021
France
Experimenters addicted mice to morphine and alcohol, injected substances into their legs “to induce generalized pain,” and subjected mice to extensive behavioral testing after injecting them with morphine.
Institution: University of Strasbourg and Inserm Strasbourg, funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
Price Tag: $1,251,480
Year: 2021–2025
Institution: Inserm Strasbourg, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Price Tag: $1,333,236
Year: 2020–2024
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Experimenters then subjected the mice to “behavioral testing” that included being suspended by their tails for six minutes. Then, the experimenters exposed the mice to light for three minutes and killed them.
Institution: Fondation Voir et Entendre, funded by the National Eye Institute
Price Tag: $214,941
Year: 2019
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Other mice and monkeys’ pupils were also dilated, and they were forced to keep their eyes open for hours while being directly exposed to light. Experimenters also cut open the eyes of rats and monkeys, detached their retinas, and implanted a patch in their eyes. Rats used to test a patch material experienced “massive physical damage and inflammation in the surgery location and surrounding areas.” Finally, the experimenters removed all the animals’ eyes.
Germany
Experimenters infected monkeys with simian immunodeficiency virus and other viruses.
Institution: Universitätsklinikum Erlangen, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $277,064
Year: 2018–2019
India
Experimenters genetically modified mice and made them suffer from diarrhea and gut inflammation.
Institution: Indian Institute of Science, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $241,992
Year: 2023–2024
Ireland
Institution: Trinity College Dublin, funded by the National Institute on Aging
Price Tag: $1,179,810
Year: 2016–2020
Israel
Experimenters subjected mice and monkeys to whole-body radiation, which can cause anorexia, severe nausea, vomiting, cramps, and diarrhea as well as result in death due to infection and hemorrhage.
Institution: Pluri Inc., formerly known as Pluristem Therapeutics, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $2,861,615
Year: 2023–2024
Kenya
Experimenters infected hamsters with a parasite that causes the devastating disease schistosomiasis, whose symptoms include fever, chills, and muscle aches.
Institution: Kenyatta University, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $629,696
Year: 2021–2024
Nigeria
Experimenters gave rats high-fat, high-carbohydrate, and high-protein diets, killed the animals, and removed their bladders.
Institution: The Federal University of Technology, funded by the John E. Fogarty International Center
Price Tag: $393,634
Year: 2021–2024
Peru
Experimenters surgically implanted a catheter in the carotid arteries of 31 piglets so they could insert up to 10,000 tapeworm embryos.
Institution: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $673,816
Year: 2019–2023
Two pigs were euthanized … due to gastric torsion and severe pneumonia.” The remaining piglets were killed five months after the surgery.
St. Kitts, West Indies
Experimenters infected monkeys with the bacteria that cause typhus, whose symptoms include fever, muscle and joint pain, rash, headache, and fatigue.
Institution: Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $104,932
Year: 2022–2023
South Africa
Experimenters destroyed mice’s immune system and infected the animals with a parasite that causes malaria.
Institution: University of Cape Town, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $1,567,031
Year: 2020–2024
Sweden
Experimenters injected substances into mice’s brains to induce inflammation, exposed the animals to noise, and killed them.
Institution: Karolinska Institute, funded by the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Price Tag: $149,716
Year: 2024
Experimenters administered aspartame to mice young and old mice and killed them at four or 22 months of age.
Institution: Karolinska Institute, funded by the National Institute on Aging
Price Tag: $2,051,061
Year: 2021–2024
Experimenters surgically implanted electrodes in eight rabbits’ legs and cut their spinal cords.
Institution: Karolinska Institute, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Price Tag: $3,482,020
Year: 2004–2017; 2021–2024
“Then, experimenters cut the cerebrums from some rabbits’ brains, fixed the rabbits to a platform by their heads and vertebral columns, and tilted the platform to observe the rabbits’ muscle response.“
Tunisia
Experimenters used rabbits as bait for sandflies.
Institution: Institut Pasteur de Tunis, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Price Tag: $249,977
Year: 2016–2017
U.K.
Experimenters subjected mice to procedures to develop abnormal proteins in the animals’ brains.
Institution: University College London, funded by the National Institute on Aging
Price Tag: $799,700
Year: 2025
Experimenters surgically implanted electrodes in monkeys’ arms and then damaged their brains to cause strokes.
Institution: Newcastle University, funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Price Tag: $1,819,429
Year: 2021–2024
Institution: Queen Mary University of London, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Price Tag: $1,983,979
Year: 2018–2022
Experimenters addicted rats to cocaine.
Institution: C4X Discovery Holdings PLC, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse
Price Tag: $476,025
Year: 2018
Experimenters cut rats open, dissected their sciatic nerve, implanted electrodes, and killed the animals.
Institution: University College London, funded by the NIH Office of the Director
Price Tag: $1,629,948
Year: 2018–2021
