I realize that I took an exorbitant amount of time writing this article. It was tasking to say the least. I did not know, that partaking in such an intense subject matter would affect me so greatly. At times, I had to walk away from it and return once my feelings of shock would subside. I can tell you this, I’m not the same person after writing this. What I learned during my research was heartbreaking and gruesome. I have a newfound respect for the people that fight for animal rights, I admire their strength and tenacity. May we all acquire such admirable attributes and may we all at some point in our lives do our share to put a stop to animal abuse.
I along with the rest of the nation, was in utter disbelief when the exposé broke about the horrendous beagle puppy experiments. I was even more surprised to find out that these awful experiments are funded with taxpayer money. And, to top it off, Dr, Fauci has a part in all of this? To my befuddlement, regarding this news story, I still somewhat was relieved at the media attention it had garnered.
I assumed,
"Well now at least something will be done to stop the beagle experiments.”
To my dismay, that’s not exactly what occurred. Instead, quite the opposite. The story certainly gained some traction, however, it almost seemed to be intentionally discredited by some reputable media outlets. How can this be? Puppies aren’t threatening. What could possibly motivate other media outlets to try and smear such a newsworthy piece.
O, that’s right, politics!
As church lady from SNL 80’s/90’s skits would say,
“Well, isn’t that special!”
(YouTube the SNL skits, church lady is a hoot!)
I wanted some clarity on the matter, and Kathy Guillermo was gracious enough to provide me with the proper information regarding this heinous news story.
For those of you who may not be familiar with Kathy Guillermo, she is the Vice President of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).
Kathy Guillermo is quite an impressive woman. Her landmark involvement in the creation of the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance shows that she means business.
Kathy has been working with PETA for 30 years plus. She shares how joining PETA was almost practically serendipitous for her. PETA came to be in the 1980’s along the time Kathy became involved in animal welfare.
She believes, as she puts it,
“Born just at the right moment.”
PETA received Kathy with open arms. What drew her to the organization primarily was so much of what they stand for. Her sentiments align with the organization.
She affirms,
“Animals have their own needs and need to be respected.”
Which unfortunately is something that most humans fail to adhere by.
Case in point, Dr. Fauci. It was recently brought to light in the media that Dr. Fauci has been affiliated with the cruel experimentation on beagles, all in the name of science. I went ahead and did some research and quickly went down the rabbit hole. Evidently, the viral news story, isn’t exactly new, it’s just new to us. We’ve been kept in the dark regarding these experiments, till now.
Once the story broke, the NIAID (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) skirted around the issued, denying that the beagles were tortured using sandflies.
Kathy Guillermo’s response to that is,
“I don’t believe that for 5 seconds.”
However, they do not deny other experiments, such as, injecting 44 Beagles with HIV/AIDS drugs and euthanizing the dogs to study their tissue soon after.
The startling reason behind mostly using beagles in such grotesque experiments is due to the breed. Kathy Guillermo says,
“Beagles are good natured. [Researchers] use that against them.”
She mentions how in several of the videos that have been obtained of the caged beagles, the beagles display an array of emotions. Yes, they are in distress and in pain, but even so, the beagles light up and wag their tails when the scientists/researchers visit them. The very humans that abuse them, are greeted with joy and happiness.
I asked Kathy Guillermo how on earth can she stomach such jarring footage. I’ve only seen a snippet of the abuse that takes place in government laboratories. I can’t even begin to imagine what comes across her desk on a daily basis. Kathy shares with me that when it comes to difficult footage of animals getting abused, she does not look away. She reveals that her feelings are irrelevant, because frankly, as she puts it,
“Whatever I’m enduring, nothing compares to what they are [enduring]. This is their lives.”
One would think that once the media picked up on this story, citizens and journalists alike would rally and try to create change. On the contrary, we are human after all, and humans have a nasty habit of making things about themselves.
Here we have a pretty cut and dry newsworthy story, beagles are being tortured by government officials in the name of science. Yet, surprisingly enough, The Washington Post decided to pick a different angle.
Just last month the coveted Washington Post came out with an article insinuating that due to a “misleading image” involving the puppy experiments, Fauci was flooded with angry calls from Republicans. Why emphasis on imagery? Why the emphasis on Republicans? Baby beagles are being experimented on inhumanely. Isn’t that the most scandalous part of the subject matter as a whole?
Instead of taking this momentous moment to highlight the travesties that are occurring in laboratories funded by taxpayer money, The Washington Post decided to politicize this story instead.
I asked Kathy what are her thoughts on the current state of the media? It is evident that some news outlets care more about distorting the truth to serve their insatiable need for clicks, rather than caring about their journalistic integrity.
Kathy Guillermo finds it troubling how the media has handled this news story.
She thinks it’s,
“Unfortunate and misleading.”
She is well aware that some liberal media outlets have not given this news story, the proper attention it deserves. On the other hand, Republican media outlets have done quite the opposite. They’ve highlighted this story extensively.
Kathy Guillermo cannot stress enough, the beagle experimentation news story is,
“Not political!”
She wishes media outlets wouldn’t shy away from the story, simply because conservatives have embraced it. Many are losing sight of the bigger picture.
Kathy finds it,
“Very suspicious.”
She wants people to be mindful and remind themselves that,
“It’s always been an issue, that doesn’t have a party.”
Kathy Guillermo tells me that it is quite possible, for people to find common ground, for the greater good. It’s happened before.
She informs me that regardless of their political affiliation, politicians like the late Bob Dole, Edward Kennedy and Bob Smith had no qualms about coming to the defense of animals during their political careers.
Kathy understands that it might be difficult for some to come to terms with, all that glitters is not gold. When the pandemic first arrived, people depended on Fauci, hanged on to his every word. He became the go to guy, advised us on what to do and what not to do. Now, some are beginning to see the whole picture regarding Dr. Fauci’s claim to fame, and it’s not pretty.
I asked Kathy Guillermo what advice does she have for people who are still hesitant and struggle with accepting this current information that has come to light.
Kathy Guillermo unequivocally says,
“[People have to] get over their own bias.”
In the meantime, PETA has continuously been hard at work.
Thankfully with PETA’s relentless efforts, Francis Collins (Director of the National Institute of Heath) will be stepping down by the end of the year.
Kathy Guillermo does makes it clear, there is still a lot more work to be done.
Unfortunately, it isn’t just beagles that the government condones experimentation on. Other innocent animals have also been subjected to unnecessary cruelty as well.
Kathy Guillermo shared with me, that this is only the tip of the iceberg.
For starters, she mentions how Dr. Fauci has allowed painful experiments on monkeys for almost four decades, in an effort to create a vaccine for HIV and AIDS, to no avail.
She desperately wants for government researchers to realize,
“At some point, these experiments on animals are not working.”
Kathy Guillermo would love nothing more for Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Elisabeth Murray to step down as well.
She reveals to me the shocking information that government researchers use our taxpayer money towards the mutilation of animals in the name of science. They’ve already spent roughly around 36 million dollars on these inhumane experiments.
One of the individuals that takes full advantage of these perks is, United States government employee and mad scientist, Dr. Elisabeth Murray. She is Dr. Fauci’s most well-known minion in the scientific community. She lives in a lavish, spacious home, all the while keeping her test subjects confined to small metal boxes, that barely allow any moment at all. The boxes are no bigger than the size of their frail and tiny bodies.
Dr. Elisabeth Murray has spent practically her entire career brutalizing monkeys with millions of dollars at her disposal. Her experiments consist of cutting monkeys’ heads open and injecting toxins in their brains. Also, drilling posts in their heads so they can remain still while she conducts her experiments.
I have to wonder, where was Jeffrey Dahmer when the NIMH (National Institute of Mental Health) was receiving job applications?
Another one of her experiments is to frighten small monkeys with rubber snakes and spiders. This complex and highly scientific experiment is also done with the deliberate purpose to see the obvious, terrifying reaction of a scared and isolated monkey.
Because if she didn’t do this, we’d be left with the open-ended question,
“I wonder how a tiny monkey would react if a rubber snake was thrown at it?”
The list goes on and on and on, pertaining to the number of deranged experiments Dr. Elisabeth Murray is so proud of.
And why does Dr. Elisabeth Murray do this? You’ll never guess. Wait for it.
She does it for us! For the human race, to have a better understanding of humans’ mental health. Yes, you read correctly, she messes with monkeys’ psyche to better understand humans' memory, decision making and emotions.
What a gal!
To add insult to injury, Dr. Elisabeth (Betsy) Murray brags about her psychopathic tendencies in her peer reviewed articles.
This woman has contributed to around 200 scholarly articles on animal experimentation, dating as far back as 2012. And that’s not including the number of articles that are from over 40 years ago!
I realize that I might have taken a wrong turn at Albuquerque and written a tad bit too much about research physiologist Dr. Elisabeth Murray.
But, honestly, can you blame me? Once I opened Pandora's box, there was no turning back.
I asked Kathy Guillermo how is it possible that the individuals that have partaken in the torture of these animals not faced any criminal charges?
Apparently, if you torture an animal within the confines of a laboratory, the law just simply looks the other way.
I truly thought by Kathy answering my questions, I’d somewhat be satisfied. On the contrary, she purposefully planted a seed. Her desire to convey what these innocent animals go through made an impact on me. I just have more questions now. I’ve become more inquisitive, regarding the despicable experiments that are currently practiced in the United States.
For example, some oblivious questions comes to mind: How come the NIH is currently receiving approximately, 41.3 billion dollars, yet are ineptly clueless on how to use state of the art non-animal technology? Why does the NIH willingly choose to stay behind other countries by using outdated methods of research?
Things need to drastically change, and it is up to us, to make them stop.
Kathy encourages people to make their voices be heard. Contact local officials, the president, the NIH. They need to know that people have had enough.
Spread the word.
Not everyone knows what is going on behind closed doors in the United States regarding the unethical experiments performed on animals.
Once you know, you can’t remain quiet on the matter.
And that is something PETA does not do, remain quiet. On the contrary, PETA has been making noise for decades, especially with their flashy and ingeniousness advertising methods.
Just last month, PETA conjured up the website, urbanoutrage.com showcasing the latest fashions, made out of human flesh.
PETA is certainly known for causing a stir, and that’s sometimes what you need to get people’s attention.
I asked Kathy Guillermo if it’s ever disappointing that the horrendous footage of animal torture isn’t always enough to sway people to get more involved and demand change regarding animal rights.
She doesn’t fault humans at all. Kathy understands, people can be fickle. They’ll care one minute and forget the next. That is precisely one of the reasons PETA is willing to get the message across anyway it deems fit.
Kathy shared with me a humorous method PETA used to get Al Gore’s attention when he was running for president. She tells me how they were continuously trying to get in contact with Mr. Gore regarding his support for the awful experiments performed on bunny rabbits at the time. Al Gore would not respond to PETA. So, PETA went ahead and tried a different tactic to get Al Gore’s attention. They had someone follow him during his campaign in a bunny costume. Sure enough, PETA heard from Al Gore, immediately after the bunny incident. Kathy chuckles at how effective the costume was at attaining the desired results.
She says,
“Scientific documents, easy to ignore, giant bunny, not so much.”
It’s been an uphill battle for PETA to continuously get people to pay attention.
Nevertheless, she remains positive.
Kathy shares with me that she is,
“[An] optimistic person.”
I asked Kathy Guillermo what she hopes to achieve in the future. She mentions that one of her primary goals is,
“[I] want every animal out of every laboratory in the world.”
Kathy Guillermo voices her concern that there is still a,
“Massive long way to go.”
She hopes that people’s takeaway from this is that people don’t turn a blind eye to what is going on in our very own backyard. We can create change. We just have to put in the work. And isn’t it worth it? Animals provide so much for humans and the earth itself. This world would be dull without them. They should be valued more and not looked at as an extension of us. We don’t own this world, we share this world with other creatures that feel and think. How can humans act so carelessly towards the innocent? We are better than this, we are highly evolved and should not pay no heed to common sense.
I leave you with this.
Kathy Guillermo’s message is clear, regarding animal rights,
“Live them alone!
They don’t belong to us.
Recognize they are living individuals.
They have the right to their own lives,
their own destiny.”
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