Rep. Nick Langworthy

On April 24, 2026, Rep. Nick Langworthy (R-NY) wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and NIH Director Jayanta Bhattacharya calling for an immediate end to NIH funding streams that support research involving dogs sourced from Ridglan Farms.

In the letter, he asked the agencies to: provide a list of active NIH-funded grants and contracts involving dogs from Ridglan Farms and other commercial dog breeders; immediately suspend funding for any projects that rely on Ridglan beagles; and develop a clear timeline for phasing out all federal support for invasive research that uses dogs and cats bred for experimentation and euthanasia.

Langworthy wrote: “The American people expect their tax dollars to reflect both fiscal responsibility and basic standards of humane treatment. Ending support for facilities that breed beagles for painful experimentation prior to euthanasia is consistent with those values.”

He is the Republican counterpart to Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) on the federal supply chain that runs from commercial breeders into the laboratories — a defining example of how this campaign runs across party lines.