Senator Goes After Hamster-Fighting Experiment That PETA Exposed

The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club. But that’s exactly what Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) is doing.

Every year, the senator exposes wasteful government spending in his pop culture–themed “Wastebook.” Not surprisingly, it often includes experiments on animals. This year, the Wastebook got the Pokémon GO treatment, which was apropos, since one of the most ludicrous examples of government waste that the senator targets is a real animal “fight club,” highlighting an experiment that PETA uncovered in 2015.

As the PETA exposé revealed, experimenters at Northeastern University in Boston have received more than $3 million in taxpayer money to inject animals with anabolic-androgenic steroids, cocaine, and other aggression-promoting drugs and force them to fight each other. Their favorite target is gentle hamsters. Experimenters watch them fight, and they score them in a twisted bracket-style tournament.

PETA is grateful to Sen. Flake for including this cruel, useless experiment in his Wastebook. We agree with his observation that “[a]fter twenty years of cage matches, it is time to get taxpayers off this hamster wheel.”

Indeed. Sign PETA’s petition to stop animal-fighting experiments at Northeastern University today.

Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and educates the public on those issues. It does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.