The White Coat Waste Project is an animal rights group and taxpayer watchdog that investigates and reports on government-funded animal-based experiments. The organization was the first to point out that U.S. tax dollars were being used to fund research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, China. ¹

The organization also reported that the NIH gave a $375,000 grant to a Tunisian lab to experiment on beagle puppies, prompting a bipartisan response from 24 members of Congress. ²

The organization has also brought awareness to animal experiments funded by the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Food and Drug Administration, among other government agencies.

Background

The White Coat Waste Project, also known as WCW, is an animal rights organization that opposes the use of tax dollars for lab experiments on animals. ³ The organization describes its supporters as “liberty-lovers and animal-lovers” opposed to $20 billion in government spending on animal experiments that it deems wasteful. ⁴

The organization has launched campaigns, investigations, advertisements, and filed freedom of information act requests to obtain information and distribute to the public about animals suffering in government-funded lab experiments. ⁵

WCW asserts the problem of publicly funded animal testing is so large that the actual price tag is unknown. The group says the solution is to expose the waste to “save animals and tax dollars.” The group says its team includes issue advocates, scientists, doctors, and political strategists. ⁶

The organization says it doesn’t want to ban animal experiments but opposes the government outspending the private sector by 2-1 on animal testing. The group claims that animal testing is “inefficient, wasteful and rarely improve human health” and that 90 percent of drugs that pass animal tests fail human tests. ⁷

Investigations and Advocacy

The White Coat Waste Project was the first organization to reveal that U.S. tax dollars were being used to fund the Wuhan Institute of Virology. ⁸

WCW also reported the NIH gave a $375,000 grant to a Tunisian lab to reportedly drug 44 beagle puppies and lock their heads in mesh cages filled with hungry sand flies. ⁹ A bipartisan coalition of 24 members of Congress called on the Biden administration to investigate the tax dollars going to the Tunisia lab to torture and kill puppies after the WCW report was made public. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) spearheaded the bipartisan letter. ¹⁰

The organization says it has mobilized more than 2 million Americans to help end taxpayer-funded labs. Among these it helped end was a lab experimenting on kittens that was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The group also claims credit for reducing dog testing funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs. ¹¹

The organization takes credit for legislation that was passed by Congress demanding timelines and phase-out of primate testing funded by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Food and Drug Administration, and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). ¹² This came after the group exposed $5.5 million spent by the Food and Drug Administration to pay for nicotine addiction studies on baby monkeys. ^{13 14} After the defunding, the FDA started an Animal Welfare Council. ¹⁵

WCW says it secured a phase-out of an animal-testing program funded by the Environmental Protection Agency. ¹⁶ It also released an investigative report that exposed the NIH animal tests using human fetal tissue. ¹⁷ The group says it ended two-decades-old testing on puppies in a Los Angeles lab. ¹⁸

Leadership

Anthony Bellotti is the president and founder of the White Coat Waste Project and a Republican-affiliated political consultant. He has said that he took an interest in opposing animal testing after a summer internship in an animal experimentation laboratory. Bellotti previously managed online advertising for Americans for Prosperity’s “Hands off My Healthcare” campaign and the digital campaign for the 2010 general election victory of Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) as a write-in candidate. Before that, he was senior research analyst for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R-CA) and helped manage opposition research for Schwarzenegger’s 2006 re-election. ¹⁹

Justin Goodman is the vice president for advocacy and public policy for the White Coat Waste Project. He previously led successful efforts to pass local, state, and federal laws policies to reduce animal experiments. He has co-authored peer-reviewed research on ethical, scientific, and regulatory issues related to animal testing. ²⁰

Mackie Burr is the digital and grassroots development director for White Coat Waste Project. She previously worked for political candidates at the firm Campaign Solutions. She also previously worked in fundraising for the campaign of former Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ). ²¹

Ann Marie Dori is the operations manager for White Coat Waste Project. She previously managed international cruelty-free product testing. She also previously oversaw a national environmental firm’s corporate volunteering program. ²²

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