The Trump Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is once again taking a stand for humane treatment and fiscal responsibility by reviving its commitment to ending animal testing. This move marks a significant reversal of the Biden-era policy that quietly shelved this crucial initiative. The initial plan, introduced during President Trump’s first term, aimed to phase out mammal testing by 2035, a significant step towards more ethical and efficient scientific practices.
Launched in 2019 under then-EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, the strategy set out a 30% reduction in mammal testing by 2025, progressing to a complete cessation by 2035. This ambitious plan was celebrated as a landmark in U.S. government efforts to end taxpayer-funded animal tests—an agenda supported by millions of Americans across political lines. However, a 2023 investigation by White Coat Waste Project (WCW) uncovered that the Biden administration had discreetly canceled this initiative, resuming animal tests under the guise of “environmental justice.”
White Coat Waste exposed shocking revelations of the Biden EPA’s practices, which included subjecting animals to inhalation of simulated wildfire smoke and emissions from firearms. Despite WCW’s offer to rehome test animals, many were tragically euthanized post-experimentation. The reinstatement of this humane policy has been a top priority for WCW and the re-energized Trump Administration.
With Lee Zeldin at the helm as the new EPA Administrator, the agency is set to enforce this phase-out vigorously. The EPA reaffirmed its commitment, stating, “Under President Trump’s first term, EPA signed a directive to prioritize efforts to reduce animal testing… The Biden Administration halted progress on these efforts by delaying compliance deadlines. Administrator Zeldin is wholly committed to getting the agency back on track to eliminating animal testing.”
“I’ve been working to revive President Trump’s plan to eliminate the EPA’s cruel and outdated animal testing. I applaud the commitment of my friend EPA Administrator Zeldin to bring President Trump’s plan back after it was senselessly canceled by the Biden-Harris Administration. Reinstating the Trump EPA plan will save tens of millions of taxpayer dollars and spare countless dogs, rabbits and other animals from painful and unnecessary experiments that can be replaced with modern alternatives that are more effective than antiquated animal testing methods.”
— Rep. Nicole Malliotakis
The original triumph in 2019, aimed at reducing animal testing through innovative alternatives, saw attempts by PETA to claim credit, despite the success being largely due to WCW’s relentless efforts. In a misleading 2021 tweet, PETA falsely claimed Trump did nothing to halt animal experimentation—a narrative they maintained even as the Biden EPA rolled back crucial deadlines. PETA’s silence on this rollback was deafening, failing to inform their members about the Biden administration’s actions or the ongoing WCW success stories.
Unlike PETA’s misplaced allegiances, WCW continues to secure victories under Trump’s leadership. Their investigations led to the termination of 10 NIH grants for transgender animal experiments, highlighting the organization’s commitment to eliminating unnecessary and unethical scientific practices.
Prominent figures like Elon Musk and Joe Rogan have brought attention to WCW’s findings on government-funded animal experiments, condemning these inhumane studies as a grotesque misuse of taxpayer dollars. Musk aptly described these labs as engaging in “mutilating animals in demented studies that are like the worst thing you can imagine from a horror show.”
