Physicians Committee
May 2017
While the Coast Guard is taking a closer look at its
practices, the other military services continue to use thousands of animals
each year in invasive training courses—even though human-relevant methods
exist. But there's a bill in Congress that addresses this issue—the BEST
Practices Act.
Please
ask your representative to co-sponsor the BEST Practices Act.
I have exciting news! Recently, the U.S. Coast Guard confirmed that it
had suspended the use of animals in invasive trauma training courses pending
an internal review. Previously, during these courses pigs and goats were
shot and stabbed.
California Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard has been a strong leader on
this effort, urging the Coast Guard to replace animal use. She even
announced the news in a recent op-ed.
But while the Coast Guard is taking a closer look at its practices, the
other military services continue to use thousands of animals each year in
invasive training courses—even though human-relevant methods exist. But
there's a bill in Congress that addresses this issue—the BEST Practices Act.
Please
ask your representative to co-sponsor the BEST Practices Act.
State-of-the-art human-relevant training methods like the Cut Suit can
provide better training than the military's current use of goats and pigs.
The Human Worn Partial Task Surgical Simulator (known as the "Cut Suit")
from Strategic Operations is a training device worn by a human actor. It
includes breakable bones, interchangeable organs, and variable blood flow.
Wounds are created by the user, and the skin and other organs are
repairable, allowing for multiple uses. The Cut Suit combines the sensation
of working on live tissue with the realism of performing procedures on a
conscious “casualty.”
With your help, we will modernize military medical training and end this cruel animal use. Thank you for your help.
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