Report on the Battlefield Excellence through Superior Training (BEST) Practices Act

SUMMARY

The Committee on Animal Law issued a report in support of the Battlefield Excellence through Superior Training (BEST) Practices Act, federal legislation which would require the Secretary of Defense to use only human-based methods for training members of the Armed Forces in the treatment of severe combat injuries. The Committee reasoned that ethical considerations involved in the continued use of animals in combat trauma training courses, as well as the existence of superior human-based training methods which would replace the current live-animal training, favor the enactment of this legislation. In addition, animal methods of combat trauma training are regarded by the scientific community as suboptimal due to the animals’ anatomical differences from humans.

BILL INFORMATION

H.R. 1095 (Rep. Johnson) / S.587 (Sen. Wyden) – to amend title 10, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Defense to use only human-based methods for training members of the Armed Forces in the treatment of severe combat injuries (114th Congress (2015-16))