URGENT ACTION ALERT! End Animal Use in Military Medical Training; it's worse than you think

December 19, 2008

Please, please take 3 minutes of your time to call your Representative. When I expained what the DOD was doing to these animals and that human models are used by most universities and colleges that train surgeons, the woman in his office was appalled and was eager to bring it to his attention. This is TOTALLY unacceptable! Also, the DOD shoots live, conscious pigs with AK-47s and 12 guage shotguns - this I read from a Marine on a blog yesterday at change.org who served in Iraq. He was a hunter, but he even said this was beyond barbaric.

Dear Mrs. Morgan,

The U.S. military continues to use live animals in medical training even though superior nonanimal methods are widely available. PCRM and Rep. Steve Rothman from New Jersey are working to end animal use in these courses, and we need your help. Please urge your representative to cosign Rothman's letter asking the military to end animal use in medical training. Contact your representative now.

It is time for the military to modernize its medical teaching methods and forgo animal use in all training of infantry, medics, and physicians. Today, 95 percent of medical schools no longer use animals to teach medical students, and the trend in advanced medical training is away from animal use.

In trauma training courses, the military is shooting pigs in the face, repeatedly exposing monkeys to a neurotoxin, and amputating goats’ legs with gardening tools. This animal use violates the Department of Defense’s (DOD) own animal welfare regulation, which states that, “Alternative methods to the use of animals must be considered and used if such alternatives produce scientifically valid or equivalent results to attain the research, education, training, and testing objectives.” Nonanimal methods are widely available and can handle every aspect of military medical training. These methods range from high-tech simulators to commonsense approaches, like the use of military and civilian trauma centers.

Rothman is sending a letter to the DOD urging it to take full advantage of advanced technology that replicates human anatomy and the hectic environment of war. But first, he is asking his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to join him.

Please urge your representative to help Rothman end the use of animals in military medical training—soldiers would benefit from better training, and countless animals' lives would be spared.

Ask your representative to cosign Rothman’s letter asking the DOD to adopt better methods in medical training. Call or e-mail your representative today, and then forward this message to your friends. Thank you for your help.

With warm regards,

Kyle AshGovernment Affairs Manager