PETA is saying “Good Riddance” to retiring COVID czar Dr. Anthony Fauci with a ghoulish Halloween costume complete with a huge syringe and a stuffed dog to represent the “thousands” of animals his agency has been responsible for testing drugs on.
The group shared details of the outfit with Secrets before making it available for sale on Tuesday.
“Revelers dressed as Fauci can join the other ghouls on Halloween night,” People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals President Ingrid Newkirk said. “During his reign of terror, Fauci oversaw the imprisonment and deaths of tens of thousands of beagles, monkeys, and other animals in failed experiments. Our costume is a fitting tribute to his legacy.”
Fauci is the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to the White House. He was influential during the COVID, SARS, and HIV/AIDS epidemics. His agency has been tied to animal testing, including on monkeys and beagles.
PETA has for years called for an end to animal tests and hopes that Fauci’s resignation effective in December will signal a change in testing policy.
The Halloween costume, which will sell for $70.99, features a mask, a lab coat with a name tag that reads “Anthony Fauci Animal Experimenter,” a large needle, and a stuffed beagle with a name tag that reads “Good Riddance, Fauci.”
PETA’s statement said, “The getup alludes to all the animals who were subjected to painful and pointless experiments under Fauci’s tenure in government, including beagles infected with a tropical disease and then killed after months of suffering, thousands of monkeys killed in failed AIDS experiments — which haven’t produced a single vaccine to prevent HIV — and dogs used in transgender experiments.”
