National Saudi Arabian Trauma Program Receives Lifesaving Human Simulators From PETA

For Immediate Release:
January 20, 2026

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia –

In a win for animals, surgeons, medical providers, and patients, Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) program is ending the use of animals in courses on treating traumatic human injuries after receiving a donation from PETA of four advanced human simulators.

The TraumaMan simulation models from Simulab Corporation are human surrogates that allow medical professionals to practice while sparing 12 to 20 sheep and goats each year from mutilation and death in archaic trauma drills.

Left: Saudi Arabia’s ATLS program previously used sheep and goats—all cut into and killed—in practice tracheostomies, cutting their throats to establish airways. Right: Today, participants train on human-relevant simulators provided by PETA’s TraumaMan donation program, sparing animals and advancing medical education while prioritizing ethics and efficacy. Photos provided by Dr. Saud Al Turki, Chairman of Saudi Arabia’s ATLS program.

“Medical professionals preparing to treat injured patients should have the best training available, and that means using human-relevant simulation models,” says PETA US Vice President Shalin Gala. “PETA is delighted to provide Saudi Arabia’s Advanced Trauma Life Support program with advanced technology that spares animals’ lives and helps trainees practice lifesaving skills.”

“We are grateful for PETA’s generous donation, which supports Saudi Arabia’s ATLS program in its commitment to replace the use of sheep and goats with durable TraumaMan models that better replicate human anatomy,” says ATLS National Office Chairman Dr. Saud Al Turki. “This advancement strengthens training quality while eliminating animal suffering in ATLS courses. Thank you, PETA!”

Since 2012, PETA has donated 128 TraumaMan simulators—worth several million dollars—to ATLS programs in 24 countries, saving thousands of animals each year and providing surgeons and other medical providers with superior, human-relevant training. Studies show that doctors who learn lifesaving surgical skills on human simulators are more proficient than those who use animals for their training.

In 2019, PETA and a surgeon published a study in the Journal of Surgical Education that found that PETA’s TraumaMan donation program had “successfully transformed the surgical skills laboratories of … international ATLS programs to replace animal use with non-animal simulation models that are more anatomically realistic, cost less, and allow trainees to repeat surgical skills until proficiency.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.