A baaaad idea? Fort Bragg to stop using goats in medical training Published January 15, 2013
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- Some 3,600 goats per year will be spared now that Fort Bragg officials have agreed to stop using them for training. (AP)
Not everyone is mad at Congress: Thousands of goats per year will be spared now that lawmakers have passed a law ending the killing of goats for Army medical training.
For years, Fort Bragg has shot, blown up and otherwise killed some 300 goats per month to train Army medics for treating wounded soldiers, according to the Fayetteville Observer. Documents show Fort Bragg's Army Special Operations Command requested up to 3,600 goats last year. Animal activists claim the goats are shot, stabbed, bludgeoned and blown up to simulate the types of injuries those in combat face, according to the newspaper.
But the new law appears to be the end of the practice, which angered animal rights activists. Instead, medics may train on humans wearing "organ suits," which have simulated human organs, breakable synthetic bones and even bloodlike fluid.
The recently passed National Defense Authorization Act requires the Department of Defense to provide plans by March to replace animals that are currently used for medical training, The Fayetteville Observer reported.
Officials with the John F. Kennedy Special Warfare Center and School and Army Special Operations Command wouldn't tell the newspaper how they plan to replace animals or say how many are killed during training.
Click for more from The Fayetteville ObserverThe Associated Press contributed to this report. Read more:
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