OPINION:
As a veterinarian, I can confirm that columnist Derek Hunter is right: Euthanizing hundreds of healthy kittens no longer needed in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s toxoplasmosis research without any effort to adopt them into loving homes is unnecessary and inhumane (“Ending taxpayer-funded kitty cruelty,” Web, May 22).
Less than 1 percent of these cats will ever become sick, and even then, they’re usually treatable with antibiotics. You are much more likely to be infected with toxoplasma from eating undercooked meat or gardening than from your cat. The USDA must expedite work to replace the archaic use of cats for its research and in the meantime, develop a program to place these kittens in loving homes rather than treating them like a disposable commodity.
CHRISTOPHER PATTERSON
Richmond, Va.
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