Oregon's own U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley announced today he's helping introduce the Kittens In Traumatic Testing Ends Now (KITTEN) Act—a bicameral, bipartisan bill intended to end the practice of killing kittens used in lab testing by the USDA. The bill was co-written with California Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D), and according to the release, has the support of more than 20 other lawmakers in both houses.

That seems low to us too.

“The USDA’s decision to slaughter kittens after they are used in research is an archaic practice and horrific treatment, and we need to end it,” Senator Merkley said in the press release. “The KITTEN Act will protect these innocent animals from being needlessly euthanized in government testing, and make sure that they can be adopted by loving families instead.”

Those kittens, up to 100 a year since 1970, are used by the USDA's Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory. The Maryland lab apparently infects kittens using parasitic meat, and then collects their (undoubtedly adorable, teeny) feces, now riddled with parasitic eggs, for even more testing.

"Once the eggs are collected, the 3-month-old kittens are killed and incinerated—even though the kittens could easily be treated and adopted out."

Horrific? Yes. Surprising? In 2019, no.

You can read the full press release below: