US food safety officials close ‘kitten slaughterhouse’

The US government says it will stop killing kittens as part of its foodborne illness research programme, following intense public criticism.

For decades the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducted experiments that involved giving months-old kittens meat infected with toxoplasma gondii. The parasite, which is sometimes found in eggs, can cause toxoplasmosis, “a leading cause of death attributed to foodborne illness in the US,” according to the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Once tests were complete, the parasite-ridden kittens were euthanised.

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More than 3,000 kittens have been put down since the $22m (£17m) programme was launched in 1982, campaigners the White Coat Waste Project (WCWP) told the BBC.

The Kitten in Traumatic Testing Ends Now Act – or KITTEN Act – which was announced last month, aims to find more humane alternatives to what it describes as “taxpayer-funded kitten slaughter”. The WCWP say the kittens should have been treated with antibiotics instead and adopted by families as pets, reports CBS Miami.

The USDA has announced that “toxoplasmosis research has been redirected and the use of cats as part of any research protocol in any ARS laboratory has been discontinued and will not be reinstated”.

The agency claims that no cats have been infected or euthanised since last September. It also says its employees are in the process of finding homes for the 14 cats who remain at its Maryland laboratory, none of whom have been infected by the parasite.

“We are continually assessing our research and priorities and aligning our resources to the problems of highest national priority,” said Dr Chavonda Jacobs-Young.

Lawmakers estimate that an average of $650,000 (£490,000) of taxpayer money has been spent by the USDA every year since 1970 in order to infect kittens with raw meat and later kill them.

US Senator Jeff Merkley, who co-authored the bill, has welcomed the news that the killing will cease.

“The USDA’s decision to slaughter kittens after they were used in research was an archaic practice and horrific treatment, and it’s past time to end it,” he said.

“It’s a good day for our four-legged friends in America.”