Why PETA, animal rights group, suddenly praising Trump administration

The Trump administration's recent policy changes to end animal testing are garnering support from animal rights groups like PETA.

Trump administration is suddenly earning praise from animal rights advocates, PETA for a series of major policy shifts that aim to end animal testing in federal research programs.

PETA commends the Trump administration's efforts to phase out animal testing in federal research, with the FDA moving to adopt more ethical methods like organoids. (AP)

The FDA and EPA both recently announced plans to phase out the use of animals in certain types of testing.

“PETA applauds the FDA’s decision to stop harming animals and adopt human-relevant testing strategies for evaluating antibody therapies,” said Kathy Guillermo, PETA’s senior vice president in an official statement. “It’s a significant step towards meeting the agency’s commitment to replace the use of animals.”

The FDA’s ruling involves moving away from mandatory animal testing—on dogs, rats, and fish—for evaluating antibody-based drugs, like monoclonal therapies used for cancer and immune conditions. Instead, they’re shifting toward lab-grown “organoids,” which mimic human organs and are seen as a more accurate, ethical way to test drugs.

FDA Commissioner Martin Makary told Fox News, “This initiative marks a paradigm shift in drug evaluation… By leveraging AI-based computational modelling, human organ model-based lab testing, and real-world human data, we can get safer treatments to patients faster and more reliably.”

Meanwhile, EPA chief Lee Zeldin announced he’s “wholly committed to getting the agency back on track.”

Animal advocacy groups have been overwhelmingly positive with Trump govt's decision

“Thank you @DrMakaryFDA for your years of advocacy & outstanding leadership to eliminate FDA red tape that forces companies & tax-funded federal agencies to conduct wasteful & cruel tests,” White Coat Waste Project, a watchdog that exposed taxpayer-funded experiments on beagles, posted on X.

Humane World for Animals CEO Kitty Block told the reporters, “For too long, animals like dogs, rabbits and mice have endured tests that inflict suffering without delivering better science. It’s time to replace these cruel methods with modern, humane alternatives.”

However, the National Association for Biomedical Research warned, “No AI model or simulation has yet demonstrated the ability to fully replicate all the unknowns about many full biological systems,” per Fox News.