Rep. Nancy Mace Moves to Ban Lab Puppy Mills After White Coat Waste Tracks 1,500 Dogs Sent into Taxpayer-Funded Experiments

The animal testing watchdog organization White Coat Waste has published a new report showing that Oak Hill Genetics, an Ewing, Illinois, breeder and the nation’s second-largest lab-dog supplier, shipped 1,518 hound-mix dogs to 44 laboratories between January 1, 2025, and June 30, 2026.

Some of the animals were only about three months old.

Recipients included universities and contract labs that hold National Institutes of Health money.

Earlier this month, White Coat Waste’s spending review found more than $225 million in NIH awards for dog and cat experiments since mid-February 2025, including more than $98 million in new dog-testing money at pharmaceutical companies and $11.7 million in new cat work.

NIH Continues Pouring More Than $225 Million Into New Dog and Cat Experiments Despite Trump Admin Efforts to Shift Toward Modern Alternatives

The lab list WCW obtained is specific.

The University of Utah took dogs for heart work that WCW says includes tied-off arteries, pacemakers, and electric shock before the animals are killed; Utah has drawn nearly $12 million for those studies and received 50 Oak Hill dogs in the 18-month window. Washington University in St. Louis, with more than $1.2 million for laryngeal-nerve work, took 32. Vanderbilt has taken more than $109 million over decades for obesity, diabetes, and liver studies. The University of Washington implants tumor cells in prostates. The University of Chicago induces severe strokes. The University of Cincinnati kills dogs to harvest larynxes.

Contract buyers in the same FOIA dump include American Preclinical Services (418 dogs), Charles River, Inotiv, NAMSA, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, Ethicon, Covidien, Mayo Clinic, and Animal Blood Resources International.

Oak Hill itself has taken more than a million dollars in taxpayer money from NIH, USDA, the Pentagon, and the VA.

Envigo and Ridglan Farms, two larger mills WCW helped drive into collapse, are closing, and Oak Hill appears to be taking their place.

$225 MILLION in NEW NIH funding for dog & cat experiments. WTF RFK?

Despite his promise for a “dramatic reduction in animal testing,” RFK’s NIH has approved new spending on taxpayer-funded animal torture — including renewed funding for Fauci-era labs using animals purchased from… pic.twitter.com/JvdcBQrB5X

— White Coat Waste (@WhiteCoatWaste) September 22, 2026

As the damning report was released, Rep. Nancy Mace introduced the Prohibiting Unethical Procedures on Pets in Science Act, H.R. 10523.

INTRODUCING: The Prohibiting Unethical Procedures on Pets in Science (PUPPS) Act to make it a federal violation to breed a dog for research, to sell or transfer a dog for research, or to knowingly acquire a dog bred for research.

Violators face civil penalties up to $10,000 per… pic.twitter.com/8LF5Vanrkt

— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) September 22, 2026

According to a press release from Mace’s office:

The PUPPS Act amends the Animal Welfare Act to:

• Ban breeding dogs for research purposes, including intentional mating, reproduction, artificial insemination, and embryo implantation.
• Prohibit the commercial distribution of dogs for research, including selling, transporting, brokering, importing, exporting, leasing, transferring, donating, or otherwise providing dogs to research facilities.
• Prohibit knowingly acquiring, receiving, or using any dog bred for research purposes.
• Revoke or deny USDA licenses and registrations for anyone engaged in prohibited activities.
• Impose civil penalties of up to $10,000 per dog, increasing to $40,000 per dog for repeat offenders. Each dog constitutes a separate violation.

Dogs already bred for research when the law takes effect are protected. They cannot be euthanized because of the bill’s enactment and instead must be offered for adoption to an individual or animal rescue organization. The Secretary of Agriculture would issue implementing regulations within 180 days of enactment, and the bill’s prohibitions would take effect 180 days after enactment.

A November 2025 federal inspection at Oak Hill Genetics still counted 1,200 puppies and adult dogs on the property.

In a statement provided to The Gateway Pundit, Rep. Mace said:

“Dogs aren’t lab equipment. They’re family. Breeding puppies into a life of pain just to stock government research labs isn’t science. It’s barbaric. We’ve already taken on Fauci’s taxpayer-funded dog experiments and fought to get animals out of federal labs and into loving homes. Now we’re shutting down the pipeline for good. Thanks to White Coat Waste for leading the charge alongside us in this fight. This bill ends the breeding of dogs for research, cuts off the supply to these labs, and gives dogs already trapped behind those walls a second chance through adoption instead of euthanasia. Man’s best friend belongs in a loving home, not a lab cage.”

White Coat Waste founder Anthony Bellotti added:

“White Coat Waste first uncovered Dr. Fauci’s BeagleGate scandal and led conservatives to the fight against taxpayer-funded animal testing. That’s why White Coat Waste is proud to support Rep. Mace’s PUPPS Act to stop the despicable dog-breeding operations we’ve exposed–including puppy mills run by Oak Hill Genetics, Marshall Bioresources, and the disgraced Ridglan Farms–that supply victims to taxpayer-funded labs and to ensure more survivors go from lab dogs to lap dogs. The PUPPS Act also hits close to home for me: I’ve adopted three pets bred in Fauci-funded labs and rescued by White Coat Waste. The solution is simple: Stop the money. Stop the madness!”