More than half of the cattle in U.S. feedlots are now fed a drug called Experior. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved it to modestly cut ammonia gas from cattle waste. But the drug maker’s own studies showed warning signs, and the FDA approved it anyway.

In those studies, cattle given the highest doses went lame more often than cattle that got no drug. In two studies, bloat, a condition that can suffocate an animal, showed up only in cattle fed Experior. Most of those animals were found dead. The FDA never ran a statistical test on the difference.

Since then, the FDA has received 75 reports of problems tied to the drug’s active ingredient, lubabegron. Death appears in 59 of them. One report describes 229 unexpected deaths at a single feedlot. These reports alone do not prove the drug caused the deaths, which is exactly why an independent review is needed.

Experior is made by Elanco Animal Health and brought in more than $200 million in 2025, according to Investigate Midwest. Some drugs in its class are restricted or outright banned in over 160 countries. Its own label warns people with heart disease to avoid contact with it. Yet no outside panel of experts reviewed it, because the FDA shut down its independent Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee in 2013.

The FDA should suspend Experior until independent scientists with no financial ties to drug makers review every adverse event report and the original safety studies. It should also bring back its veterinary advisory committee so drugs like this face outside scrutiny before they reach the food supply.

Sign the petition to demand the FDA pull Experior until its safety is proven, before more animals die.