PETA has caught attention once again, but this time for making dubious claims about animal experimentation funded by U.S. taxpayer dollars. On a recent Friday, the organization launched a website boldly declaring, “Your Tax Dollars Fund Russian Experiments on Cats—Tell NIH No More!” Accompanying this announcement on social media, PETA denounced a researcher named Tatiana Deliagina, accusing her of inflicting severe pain on cats and rabbits in foreign labs.
However, a closer look at the facts reveals a different story. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has not funded any cat experiments in Russia for the last three years. This change came after the conservative watchdog group White Coat Waste (WCW) exposed the issue and successfully lobbied Congress to cut off funding to these practices. Justin Goodman, WCW’s Senior Vice President, quickly refuted PETA’s claims on social media. “I hate to defend NIH, but this is fake news from PETA,” Goodman stated. He informed the public that, thanks to their efforts, funding for animal experiments in Russia had been eliminated.
PETA’s claims seem to be based on a misinterpretation of recent research papers from 2025. These papers relied on outdated data, which predated the cuts initiated by WCW in 2023. Despite the misleading assertions from PETA’s webpage, the latest records obtained by WCW show no current NIH funds allocated for cat experiments.
This situation is not unique for PETA; the organization has a history of making questionable claims while attempting to take credit for the work of others. For instance, in 2021, PETA criticized the Trump administration for trivializing animal testing, even after those same years saw significant reductions in government animal testing, efforts in which WCW played a pivotal role. Amidst this backdrop, independent journalist Laura Loomer pointed out that, rather than exhibiting genuine concern for animal rights, PETA appears to be attempting to siphon off the accomplishments of WCW, including the closure of the NIH’s last beagle testing lab.
In a twist, PETA recently accused WCW of having “young-male-testosterone energy” and redirected attention toward their own fundraising. This statement was met with strong rebuttal from Goodman, who remarked on WCW’s successes. “We’re proud of our hard-hitting campaigns and historic victories against government animal labs,” he noted. The competitive relationship between these organizations highlights the clash of narratives within the animal rights community.
PETA’s actions reveal a pattern of misinformation that deceptively skews public perception. In times when ethical treatment of animals and government accountability are critical issues, an organization spreading false narratives does a disservice to genuine advocates and complicates the path toward effective change.
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