EPA's Lab Animals Going Up for Adoption

The EPA is launching a new program allowing the adoption of some of its 20,000 lab animals as the agency faces major staffing and research cuts under the Trump administration. The plan to have staff members adopt animals including zebrafish and rats from an EPA lab in North Carolina is revealed in an internal document obtained by the nonprofit Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), reports the New York Times. This is tied to a broader overhaul of the EPA's Office of Research and Development, which is being downsized and rebranded as the Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions, per the Guardian.

The Trump administration's plan seeks to cut about three-quarters of the office's staff—roughly 1,000 scientists—but the move is currently stalled in court. PEER's science policy director, Kyla Bennett, says the shift to focus on shorter-term, legally required projects is "ill-advised" and could damage the agency's ability to assess long-term risks and innovations. Bennett and other critics argue that slashing animal research could increase reliance on studies funded by chemical companies, making it harder to identify health and environmental risks. They also warn that the shift will hinder research into the long-term effects of pollutants, such as plastics and "forever chemicals" like PFAS, which often involves testing on animals.

The EPA primarily uses lab animals to test the safety of chemicals and pollutants, but Trump's first term saw a push to reduce animal testing by 30% by 2025 and end it by 2035. Officials say that plan is back in place, per the Times. But the EPA claims lab animal adoptions have nothing to do with funding cuts and are instead driven by concerns over animal welfare. "The Trump EPA is working to get as many of the animals into loving homes as possible," says EPA press secretary Brigit Hirsch, per the Times.