Blog - Joyful Curmudgeon - Blog
A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 

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Ending the Use of Live Animals in Military Trauma Training – 30 April 2009
By Mary T. Hoffman

In our opinion, one of the most egregious, unnecessary uses of taxpayers’ money is the horrible suffering caused to live animals in military trauma training.

“In medical training courses, the U.S. Army poisons monkeys to imitate nerve gas exposure. Live goats and pigs are burned or maimed to teach military personnel how to respond to severe battlefield injuries.”

“In 2007 alone, over 8,750 animals suffered and were killed as a result of procedures. From what we have been able to determine, the Department of Defense (DoD) paid one contractor more than $4 million – of tax-payer money – for these courses between July 2005 and September 2007.”

“…the use of animals in military medical courses constitutes a violation of the DoD’s own animal welfare joint regulation, which states: ‘Alternative methods to the use of animals must be considered and used if such alternatives produce scientifically valid or equivalent results to attain research, education, training, and testing objectives.’ ”

“The use of pigs and goats for combat casualty training is simply not effective. These animals have anatomical and physiological differences from humans. They have smaller torsos and limbs, thicker skin, different responses to anesthesia and analgesia, and completely different anatomy. As a result of these differences, it is impossible to mimic human wounds or treatment in pigs and goats.”

“Superior training methods exist for each area of animal use.”

– From: Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM)

For additional information about the DoD’s training methods and PCRM’s proposed alternatives, please go online to
http://www.pcrm.org/resch/dod/index.html. 

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