Help Stop US Military Animal Experiments

Unbeknownst to most Americans, the United States military quietly rescinded an important animal testing ban a few years ago. Today, federal tax dollars are funding horrific weapons tests on animals, which may include dogs and cats taken from shelters.

For years, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) conducted “wound labs,” during which conscious or semiconscious dogs, goats, and other animals were shot with high-powered weapons so military doctors and scientists could study the effects. These gruesome experiments continued until 1983, when PETA exposed the DOD’s plans to purchase dozens of dogs from animal shelters and shoot them on a firing range in Maryland. Public outcry over the proposed violence led to the military halting the program and issuing the first-ever permanent ban on the shooting of dogs, cats, and primates in wound labs.

In 2005, the Army strengthened these protections by issuing Regulation 40-33, which prohibited the use of dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, and marine mammals in “[r]esearch conducted for development of biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons.”

Tragically, in 2020, the Army quietly reversed this ban in a shocking backslide for animal welfare and human decency. Policy 84, issued by the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC), now allows “[t]he purchase or use of dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, or marine mammals to inflict wounds upon using a weapon for the purpose of conducting medical research, development, testing, or evaluation.”

Earlier this month, in honor of Veteran’s Day, more than 250 former U.S. Army service members called on the military to reinstate the ban on testing weapons on animals. While reinstating this ban for dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, and marine mammals would be a step in the right direction, Species Unite believes it’s time to put an end to all U.S. military testing on animals.

Every year, thousands of live animals—primarily pigs and goats—are maimed and killed during secretive trauma training exercises, often called “live tissue training,” conducted by the Department of Defense and Department of Homeland Security. In these cruel experiments, animals have been subjected to horrific tortures such as being shot in the face, burned alive, and having their limbs amputated or organs removed without sufficient anesthesia.

These experiments are justified as advancing military medical science, but due to significant anatomical differences between pigs, goats, and humans, they are essentially meaningless. Human skin, organs, and bones do not heal like those of nonhuman animals. Fortunately, biomedical simulation technologies, including human patient simulators, computer-assisted learning software, and virtual reality programs, offer alternative, superior training methods.

Take Action Now

Species Unite is calling on the Department of Defense to stop these cruel and unnecessary tests on animals and embrace humane, scientifically advanced, animal-free alternatives. Please join us in demanding change.