Sponsors
The bill replaces live-animal use in live-fire trauma training with simulators, cadavers, and actors—trading improved humane treatment, repeatable training methods, and reduced DoD legal/PR risk for upfront costs and potential gaps or short-term disruptions in training fidelity and availability.
Service members — live animals will be removed from live-fire trauma training, reducing animal harm and ensuring trainees are treated more humanely.
Service members — training will rely on advanced simulators, mannequins, cadavers, or actors, providing more realistic, repeatable practice opportunities without harming animals.
Department of Defense and federal employees — the Department will face fewer legal, ethical, and public-relations risks from eliminating live-animal use in training.
Taxpayers and the Department of Defense — the Department may face upfront and ongoing costs to purchase, maintain, or operate high-fidelity simulators, mannequins, cadavers, or hire actors to replace animals.
Service members — certain physiological responses and medical conditions that live animals previously provided may be harder to replicate, potentially reducing training fidelity for some scenarios and affecting preparedness.
Service members — if the Department lacks sufficient cadavers or high-fidelity equipment, live-fire trauma training could be disrupted in the short term, delaying or reducing training availability.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Prohibits use of live animals in DoD live-fire trauma training and requires replacement with simulators, mannequins, cadavers, or actors.
Introduced December 9, 2025 by Vernon G. Buchanan · Last progress December 9, 2025
Requires the Secretary of Defense to ban the use of live animals (including dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, and marine mammals) in Department of Defense live-fire trauma training beginning on the date of enactment. The Department must replace live animals, as needed, with advanced simulators, mannequins, cadavers, or human actors to carry out trauma training. The law sets a categorical prohibition for this specific type of training but does not appropriate new funds or create other program authorizations; the Secretary determines how to implement replacements within Department resources.