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Fauci Under Fire For Gain-Of-Function Research, Testing On Dogs

(Photo by Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

Dylan Housman Deputy News Editor
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The hashtag #ArrestFauci trended on Twitter Sunday as critics of White House chief medical adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci slammed him for funding abusive animal testing as well as misleading the public about gain-of-function research in Wuhan, China.

Daily Caller first reported that a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress sent a letter to Fauci demanding answers for his agency, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), spending millions of dollars in taxpayer money on animal testing that involved abusing and killing beagles. The National Institutes of Health also released a letter admitting it funded gain-of-function research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), an allegation Fauci had previously vehemently denied.

The animal testing funded by Fauci has been deemed unnecessary by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Fauci has not yet publicly addressed criticisms over the research funding despite multiple attempts from lawmakers to dig into the issue and earlier reports of NIAID’s abusive activity.

Fauci has been involved in several tense encounters with Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul in recent months over the funding of gain-of-function research in Wuhan. Fauci said Paul has “no idea” what he was talking about when Paul previously alleged that the NIH funded the dangerous disease research at the WIV, despite numerous experts asserting that the research fell into the category of gain-of-function. (RELATED: NIH Spent $140 Million On Animal Testing In Foreign Countries Last Year, Watchdog Group Finds)

Paul took a victory lap Wednesday after the NIH letter was released, telling critics “I told you so.” The NIH has continued to defend the funding sent to Wuhan, and Fauci has yet to address the letter since it was released last Wednesday.