Animal rights activists are thrilled that Congress, for the first time, has ordered the Department of Defense to prepare for ending the practice of using animals for medical training.

As part of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013, lawmakers required Pentagon officials to present a plan by this week that details the phasing out of “live tissue training,” in which combat medics operate on animals to learn how to treat gunshot wounds and severed limbs.

Instead of using animals, the medics will be expected to use human simulators, which resemble mannequins designed to react like the human body while being operated on, including the hemorrhaging of fake blood.

“Congress now acknowledges that it is wrong to harm animals for crude medical training exercises if modern and superior alternatives are available,” Justin Goodman, director of laboratory investigations for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), told The Washington Post. “If the military is too entrenched to make changes on their own, Congress is going to bring pressure to bear and force that change.”

However, the military will not entirely abandon the use of animals for medical training, as evidenced by the fact that the Army is soliciting bids for a five-year contract for goats to be used in the training of medics.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

Military Is Required To Justify Using Animals In Medic Training After Pressure From Activists (by Ernesto Londoño, Washington Post)

Animal Advocates Challenge Right of Navy to Threaten Lives of 31 Million Ocean Mammals (by Noel Brinkerhoff, AllGov)

Navy Wins Court Battle to Install Underwater Warfare Training Near Calving Ground of Endangered Whale (by Noel Brinkerhoff and David Wallechinsky, AllGov)