Victory! President Trump Signs Bill Ending The DOD’s Funding Of Cruel Dog & Cat Experiments

WAN is thrilled to report that President Trump has officially signed into law a landmark measure cutting funding for the Department of Defense (DOD)’s cruel dog and cat experiments as part of the 2026 defense policy bill.

The provision cleared the U.S. Senate with broad bipartisan support in a 77–20 vote this week, following passage by the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill’s signing marks the first time in history that the DOD’s dog and cat testing has been fully defunded.

This historic victory was secured by watchdog group White Coat Waste (WCW), and represents the culmination of years of investigations, advocacy, and bipartisan campaigning. WCW is the first and only organization to expose and help end the DOD’s wasteful dog and cat experiments in both U.S. and foreign laboratories, while successfully lobbying Congress to strip funding for these cruel practices.

This is a huge win for animals and a powerful reminder that sustained advocacy can lead to real, life-saving change.

WAN is thrilled to report that the U.S. Senate has voted to cut funding for the Department of Defense (DOD)’s cruel dog and cat experiments through the passage of the 2026 defense policy bill. The measure cleared the upper chamber with broad bipartisan support in a 77–20 vote, following passage by the U.S. House of Representatives last week.

If signed into law by President Trump, as expected, this measure, secured by the watchdog group, White Coat Waste (WCW), will be the first ever to defund the DOD’s dog and cat experimentation.

This historic vote is a huge victory for animals and the result of years of investigations, campaigning, and bipartisan work by WCW, the first and only organization to expose and help end the DOD’s wasteful dog and cat experiments in U.S. and foreign labs, while also lobbying Congress to defund them.

Earlier this year, the DOD credited WCW with prompting the cancellation of a $10 million cat constipation experiment, a full U.S. Navy ban on dog and cat testing, and millions of dollars in additional cuts to painful experiments on pets in the U.S. and abroad.

While meaningful progress has been made, the DOD has continued to fund dog and cat testing. This bill directly cuts that remaining spending.

In 2024, World Animal News (WAN) broke an exclusive WCW investigation revealing that the DOD was spending $1 million on cruel dog experiments, prompting the House to unanimously pass a bipartisan amendment cutting funding for dog and cat testing in the 2025 defense budget. That legislation was ultimately not signed into law, but WCW and Congress brought it back this year, and it successfully passed.

Several influential Members of Congress praised WCW for leading the charge to defund the DOD’s cruel dog and cat experimentation.

Congresswoman Nancy Mace (R-SC) stated, “We worked alongside White Coat Waste to secure this landmark provision in the FY26 National Defense Authorization Act, which bans the Department of War from funding experiments on dogs and cats. There is no justification for subjecting pets to cruel experiments and this commonsense reform puts it to an end. This reform would not have been possible without White Coat Waste’s rigorous oversight and commitment to exposing abuse funded by American taxpayers.”

Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA) said in a statement, “It is indefensible to waste tax dollars designed to boost our national security on cruel and pointless experiments on cats and dogs. Thank you to White Coat Waste for exposing what often took place in sketchy labs of our foreign adversaries and working hand-in-hand with Congress to get it banned. Our furry friends and the American people will be safer with defense dollars that protect our homeland instead of funding nonsense pseudoscience.”

“Research and testing methods involving dogs and cats are outdated. We must adopt more scientific approaches to improve lives. Standing against cruelty to animals is a universal value that everyone should support, regardless of political views,” said Congressman Don Davis (D-NC).

Below are some of White Coat Waste (WCW)’s major victories in ending dog and cat testing:

• During the first Trump administration, WCW helped pass landmark legislation defunding dog, cat, and primate experiments at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

• WCW exposed and shut down the government’s largest cat laboratory, which was located inside the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

• In May of this year, the U.S. Navy canceled a $10 million contract for cat testing exposed by WCW and banned all dog and cat testing, becoming the first federal agency to prohibit testing on pets and crediting WCW for the decision.

• That same month, WCW shut down a DOD-funded contract for drug testing on 300 beagles per week in China.

• In July, after a WCW investigation uncovered more than $57 million in active Pentagon-funded dog and cat experiments worldwide, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cut millions in contracts and credited WCW for exposing the tests.

The recent House and Senate votes send a powerful message: taxpayer dollars must not fund cruelty to dogs and cats, and real change is finally happening.

Please support White Coat Waste’s ongoing efforts to end cruel animal testing for good, HERE!