'Wuhan West' Colorado State University Bat Lab Receives Millions in New NIH Funding

NIH pumped another $2.26 million into CSU's risky biolab, despite EcoHealth's suspension and fears of deadly virus leaks.

In a timely revelation during Halloween’s Bat Week (October 24–31), new federal funding has been allocated to Colorado State University’s (CSU) bat research facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, stoking opposition from public health advocates and government officials alike.

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CSU’s work with “select agents”—pathogens like Ebola deemed severe threats by the CDC—means the university participates in work involving dangerous viruses under high-security conditions, raising concerns about public safety and containment risks.

According to records recently obtained by the White Coat Waste Project (WCW), CSU’s lab—which is set to experiment on dangerous viruses using bats imported from Asia—received an additional $2.26 million from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) last month.

In recent days, WCW has released photos obtained via Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) requests, showing scenes of bat hunting and experimentation associated with the CSU lab project.

Images obtained via Colorado Open Records Act (CORA) request by the White Coat Waste Project (WCW) show CSU researchers capturing and handling bats for virus experiments at the Fort Collins lab. Critics warn the facility, funded by $15 million in taxpayer dollars, poses potential risks to public health and safety. This image shows a researcher in full protective gear, including a respirator and gloves, holding a bat in one hand while seated, surrounded by cloth bags likely containing other bats, suggesting they are involved in a bat handling or research operation.

A bat, restrained within a cloth wrap, has its mouth open, exposing sharp teeth and large, pointed ears. Its wings, mottled with dark spots, are partially visible around the edges, suggesting it’s being held for examination or research purposes.

A researcher wearing purple gloves holds a small bat, staring directly at the camera with wide eyes, likely as part of virus research activities.

These images have further stoked community concerns and added a visual urgency to the push against the facility.

WCW President and Founder Anthony Bellotti criticizes CSU’s “Wuhan West” lab, arguing taxpayers shouldn’t fund its $15 million in hazardous bat virus experiments, citing risks to public health, animal welfare, and national security.

He highlights CSU’s track record of lab accidents and collaborations with Wuhan and urges the NIH and Governor Polis to end the project’s funding.

“We’ve been exposing and fighting CSU’s reckless ‘Wuhan West’ lab because taxpayers in Colorado and nationwide shouldn’t be forced to bankroll the government’s $15 million in scary spending on wasteful, deadly, and cruel bat virus experiments that threaten animals, public health, and national security,” Bellotti told this website.

“Our investigations have documented CSU’s sordid history of dangerous animal lab accidents, useless bat experiments, and collaborations with the Wuhan lab that experts believe caused COVID. Our message to the NIH and Governor Polis is clear: Stop the money. Stop the madness!”

A restrained bat with its wings fully extended is held by gloved hands on a sterile surface, surrounded by lab equipment, indicating it is likely being prepared for examination or testing.

The new financial allocation arrives despite EcoHealth Alliance (EHA) being removed from the project due to a federal suspension, leaving questions about how CSU will source its bats without EHA’s well-known global network.

The facility has long drawn criticism for its controversial research scope and safety risks, with the recent funding disclosure renewing scrutiny.

“The taxpayer-funded bat lab being built by Colorado State University in collaboration with the NIH and infamous Wuhan lab funder EcoHealth Alliance is a waste of money and a threat to public health,” stated WCW’s Senior Vice President Justin Goodman.

The taxpayer-funded project’s NIH backing, as well as its location near a community wary of lab-based virus work, has inflamed public concern.

Congress Moves to Block CSU Lab Funding

Congressman Paul Gosar (R-AZ) is spearheading legislative action to halt the facility’s funding, submitting an amendment to the 2025 NIH funding bill to cut all grants supporting the CSU bat lab project.

Rep. Gosar’s proposed amendment underscores a growing congressional focus on the public safety and fiscal responsibility of high-stakes virus research.

A small bat lies immobilized on a sterile surface with a small device attached to its back, while a researcher in purple gloves prepares to work with it, suggesting it may be part of a tagging or monitoring procedure.

His amendment, now pending review in the House after the upcoming election, signals a turning tide among lawmakers wary of NIH’s funding priorities in a post-pandemic landscape.

Gosar’s concerns echo those of other legislators, like Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA), who have openly opposed the facility’s mission, fearing a potential pandemic stemming from the lab’s experimental pathogen work.

Federal Support Amid EcoHealth’s Federal Ban

The CSU lab’s new $2.26 million in NIH funding, provided through the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), bolsters a project that has weathered substantial setbacks.

Initially a collaborative endeavor with EcoHealth Alliance, the project is advancing despite EcoHealth’s federal suspension, enforced due to the organization’s handling of taxpayer funds and controversial experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV).

EHA’s removal from the CSU project raises operational questions, as the alliance was previously responsible for importing bats from abroad, specifically in Asia where certain bat species are known carriers of SARS-related coronaviruses and Nipah virus.

A small bat peeks out from inside a cloth bag hung on an orange rope, likely restrained for research or transport purposes.

Several bats are hanging upside down inside a white metal cage, likely being held for observation, research, or containment purposes.

Without EcoHealth’s network, it remains unclear how CSU will proceed in capturing and importing the bats needed for its work.

The project, titled “Establishment of a Bat Resource for Infectious Disease Research,” is designed to create breeding colonies of bats for experimental infection studies on high-risk pathogens.

These include coronaviruses like SARS-CoV-2 and MERS, as well as Nipah virus, an often-deadly pathogen with a pandemic potential akin to Ebola.

Experimental infection models will examine how these viruses circulate within bat populations and the factors that enable bats to harbor these viruses without apparent illness.

NIH records emphasize that the project aims to generate insights to mitigate virus spillover risks to humans.

A Worrisome History of Lab Leaks and Safety Incidents

Public scrutiny has intensified due to CSU’s and NIH’s documented histories with safety incidents in viral research settings.

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) documents uncovered by WCW this year revealed over 50 safety violations at CSU’s facilities from 2020-2023.

A bat is enclosed in a clear plastic container covered with mesh secured by a rubber band, likely to allow airflow while containing the bat for observation or research purposes.

A bat is restrained while a researcher wearing purple gloves uses a syringe, likely to administer an injection or collect a sample, as part of a controlled procedure. Another person in yellow gloves assists with holding the bat steady.

Reports included incidents such as lab workers bitten by COVID-19-infected hamsters, exposure to tuberculosis, and mishandling of infected animal samples, prompting questions about the safety protocols in place.

Further, USDA findings indicate that CSU faced federal fines for violating the Animal Welfare Act, with inspectors citing failures to prevent “discomfort and physical harm” to animal subjects.

Public figures have raised alarms over the lab’s safety record and close ties to high-stakes viral research.

In November 2023, Goodman remarked on the urgency of increased oversight, warning, “After what we exposed in Wuhan, giving the disgraced EcoHealth Alliance and its cronies millions more of our tax money to traffic infected wild bats from Asia to US animal labs for dangerous virus experiments is a recipe for disaster.”

In an opinion piece for The Washington Times published last June, Goodman wrote:

CSU and EcoHealth’s bat lab scheme poses unnecessary risks that threaten our health, safety and national security. With nothing to suggest they can produce meaningful results to help humans, this bat lab is an extremely poor investment of taxpayer money and does not merit support.

Defunding EcoHealth is a good start, but we hope taxpayers will join us in urging Congress to cut all funding for this misguided and menacing project as lawmakers craft federal spending bills for 2025.

Public Pressure Mounts

Christine Wright Bowman, the leader of the grassroots group Covid Bat Research Moratorium of Colorado, has been vocal in her opposition, urging community action.

“Until construction is actually completed, we have time to convince the people of Fort Collins, and this nation, that we should be concerned about the safety of this research,” she said, voicing a growing sentiment among Fort Collins residents and beyond.

“CSU will not stop voluntarily; we need the help of Congress.”

A bat is restrained with its head in a breathing mask while a researcher wearing blue gloves administers an injection, likely as part of a medical or experimental procedure.

Bowman’s group has been actively lobbying for a halt to construction, a call that aligns with Gosar’s efforts in Congress.

Bowman urges all Americans to get involved, emphasizing the potential nationwide impact of any accidental virus release: “The potential of having another deadly disease leak from a lab is overwhelming. We need to stop this now.”

In Boulder, resident and advocate Erin Ashbaugh, working alongside Christine Bowman, voiced her deep concerns over Colorado State University’s (CSU) scientific practices, particularly in light of lessons learned from the pandemic.

“Without transparency—which CSU has avoided at all costs—and accountability in the form of regulation—which we now know is minimal, if not non-existent—CSU’s plans are anything but responsible,” Ashbaugh told this website.

“After the global impact of this kind of irresponsibility, it is unfathomable that our government—local and national—would allow such activities to happen in our backyard. Even worse, taxpayers who may bear the brunt of potential fallout from these actions are footing the bill, with no say in the matter.”

Her concerns intensified following the recent passage of a rule allowing U.S. agencies to bypass safety checks and oversight on ‘enhanced’ pandemic-level pathogen gain-of-function research.

Ashbaugh emphasized the need for bipartisan action:

“It’s time for politicians to cross the aisle and work together to fulfill the duty they were elected for—to protect the best interests of our nation. If people weren’t awake before, maybe this will be the catalyst. This is not just a Colorado issue. Our backyard is everyone’s backyard. Our representatives need to stand up for what is best for the people—locally, nationally, and globally—not the interests of universities and organizations with a record of questionable science.”

A Critical Crossroad for NIH Funding

The fate of the CSU bat lab project now hinges on Congress’s decision regarding the NIH’s 2025 funding bill.

As the nation reflects on the lessons of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CSU lab’s purpose, federal backing, and the ethics of viral research are poised to come under intensified scrutiny.

A bat is restrained by a gloved hand on a cloth surface, likely prepared for examination or handling as part of a research process.

A researcher wearing purple gloves holds a small bat with a device attached to its back, possibly for tracking or data collection, as part of a monitoring or research procedure.

The question remains: will federal funding continue to fuel a project that some argue could unleash the very viruses it seeks to understand?

For Bellotti, Goodman, Bowman, Gosar, and others, the answer is clear: America can no longer afford to gamble with such high-stakes research on its own soil.

Follow Jon Fleetwood: Instagram @realjonfleetwood / Twitter @JonMFleetwood / Facebook @realjonfleetwood

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