cute kitten
© EEI_Tony / Getty Images/iStockphotoU.S. government scientists bought dogs and cats from Asian meat markets and fed them to kittens in "cannibal" experiments, according to a watchdog report.
U.S. government scientists conducted experiments on thousands of kittens including "cannibal" studies where cats and dogs bought from Asian meat markets were fed to other cats, a watchdog report released Tuesday says.

The report from the White Coat Waste Project, obtained by the Daily News, says that the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has been breeding and using cats for studies since 1982 - and they are often killed a short time after the experiments take place. The USDA also made "false and misleading claims to Congress, the media, the public," the report claims.

"The USDA's taxpayer-funded kitten cannibalism experiments read like a burgeoning serial killer's diary," Justin Goodman, vice president of advocacy and public policy at White Coat Waste Project said in a statement sent to The News.

Not only does the government agency breed and kill cats on its own premises, the study states - but the ARS has also bought "hundreds of pet, stray or 'unwanted' " dogs and cats from Asian, African and Latin American countries. This happened as recently as 2015, the report said.

After animals were purchased, their tissues were shipped to the Animal Parasitic Disease Laboratory (APDL) in Beltsville, Md. - and often fed to cats bred in the labs to test for Toxoplasmosis.

As stated in the study, "Toxplasmosis is an extremely common protozoan (single cell) parasitic infection caused by Toxoplasma gondii" -which is unusual because it can infect almost any tissue in the body of a warm-blooded animal."

This includes mammals, birds and humans. While the parasite lives in at least one-third of all mammals, harmlessly, cats are "the only host animal in which T. gondii can complete its lifestyle" - so they have been historically used for experiments.

In cats, the parasite generates and excretes eggs that are environmentally-resistant - which is essential for the parasite to live. Humans or other animals become infected when they ingest contaminated soil, water or tissue cysts in meat that is undercooked.

The report released Tuesday condemns the USDA's actions, stating the use of the animals for the experiments is "unnecessary and unjustifiable," and the scientific contributions of the experiments are "limited" to improving public health.

Since 1982, the USDA reported it "used approximately 3,000 cats and kittens." However, the report states at least 3,959 were used - but that number "is likely a significant underestimate."

Under current protocol, the ARS breeds up to 100 kittens each year at the lab in Maryland. After they are bred, the kittens are fed raw meat that has been infected with the T. gondii parasite at 8 weeks old and their feces are collected for up to three weeks to harvest eggs for food safety experiments with collaborating partners. The kittens "briefly pass the parasite's eggs and become immune within weeks," the report states. However, the kittens are "killed and then incinerated by the USDA because they are no longer useful."

The study stated one "particularly troubling" aspect of the study shows that some cats and dogs were bought by the USDA from Asian meat markets - despite the U.S. Congress condemning the same countries for the animals' meat trades. These animals' remains were injected into mice and fed to mice and cats.

U.S. Congressman Brian Mast, the leading cosponsor of a bipartisan bill titled "Kittens in Traumatic Testing Ends Now," or KITTEN Act, called the experiments "disgusting and unjustifiable." The bill was introduced in Congress March 7, as reported by NBC.

"The details of these kitten experiments keep getting worse and they need to end now," Mast said in a statement sent to The News.

Meat from dogs and cats is "abnormal" for the diet of dogs, cats and mice, which the study says is likely "irrelevant" for the studies, and their "relevance and justification is questionable, at best."

Additionally, the study noted the consumption of dog and cat meat is not relevant to public health in America since it is illegal.

The USDA also conducted "dozens of studies abroad" that killed cats, and used many other animals including black bears, dolphins,toucans, arctic foxes, alpacas, water buffalo, and raccoons - among other animals.

Despite the USDA's reports that its scientific experiments contributed to things like parasite life cycle, Toxoplasmosis review in animals, prevention and control of Toxoplasma in meat and "documenting low presence" of the T. gondii in certain animals and meat, the report says the experimentation on cat "at best contributed marginally."

While the study notes experimentation on cats "was more justifiable" than today, it also stated the number of parasites harvested from two kittens equaled more than 1.8 billion eggs over a four-day period. If proper storage conditions were used, the study said the number of eggs harvested from one kitten infected with the parasite could provide for "hundreds of ARS experiments over many years."

Additionally, Toxoplasmosis in cats is "extremely common," never warrants euthanasia, and does not increase a risk for humans contracting the parasite - so they do not need to be euthanized, the report states.

The USDA also made "false and misleading claims to Congress, the media, and the public," the report says - including claims the agency discovered the life-cycle of T. gondii and people commonly become infected when they make contact with cat feces or fruits and vegetables contaminated by the animal feces.

However, most humans who become infected with the parasite do so by consuming undercooked meat or through the environment, the study said.

U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, who introduced the KITTEN Act, said in a statement to The News that there is "zero excuse for the USDA to be slaughtering kittens rather than treating them and adopting them out to loving homes."

He added that it is the USDA purchasing cats and dogs from the "notoriously inhumane meat markets in Asia" and feeding their remains to animals is "deeply disturbing" - and said animals can be treated humanely when advancing scientific discovery.

White Coat Waste Project's report called for the defunding of U.S. government experiments on cats, and all the live cats and kittens at the lab to be adopted.

"That the USDA could, for over a decade, use taxpayers' money to go around the world rounding up hundreds of kittens and puppies, killing them, and feeding their brains to cats for useless experiments highlights the disturbing lack of accountability and transparency at the agency. Congress must act now to pass the bipartisan KITTEN Act to stop these wasteful experiments and the abuse of kittens and Americans' hard-earned tax dollars," Goodwin said.