Abstract
Uncontrolled hemorrhage is the most common preventable cause of death for soldiers wounded in combat. In live-tissue trauma training (LTTT), animals (mostly goats and pigs) are used to train physicians and paramedical personnel in how to treat severe traumatic injuries, including severe blood loss. Military personnel insist that such realistic training is necessary and has to date saved countless lives of soldiers. Animal rights groups, however, argue that the practice is inhumane and should be replaced with alternative methods. In this essay, the author explains how and why animals are used for LTTT and in military medical research (MMR), as well as why he feels that the continued use of animals for LTTT and MMR is justified. The author hopes to encourage wider discussion of this topic within the scientific, defense and animal welfare circles, leading to further refinements in the welfare and protection of animals used for these important, though often controversial, purposes.
References
Jan 2, 2007·The Journal of Surgical Research·Vance Y SohnRobert M Rush
May 14, 1976·Science·D L Hull
Sep 24, 2008·Lab Animal·Jerald Silverman
Citations
May 15, 2016·American Journal of Otolaryngology·David C IanaconeGlenn Isaacson
Aug 11, 2016·Surgery·Stephen L BarnesUNKNOWN University of Missouri Combat Casualty Training Consortium
Sep 3, 2016·World Journal of Emergency Surgery : WJES·Yoshimitsu IzawaAlan Kawarai Lefor
Oct 28, 2017·Academic Emergency Medicine : Official Journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine·Danielle HartUNKNOWN University of Minnesota Combat Casualty Training Consortium (UMN CCTC)
Aug 4, 2019·Modern Pathology : an Official Journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc·Marie Colombe AgahozoCarolien H M van Deurzen
Feb 15, 2020·Molecular Oncology·Mieke R Van BockstalCarolien H M van Deurzen
Jul 2, 2015·The Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery·Erin C SavageHomer C Tien
Dec 18, 2013·Alternatives to Laboratory Animals : ATLA·Robert D Combes
Apr 11, 2018·Military Medicine·Alex BukoskiUNKNOWN University of Missouri Combat Casualty Training Consortium
Apr 6, 2019·European Journal of Anaesthesiology·Bjoern HossfeldMatthias Helm
Feb 9, 2016·Advances in Simulation·Katarina SilverplatsLars Lundberg
Jun 2, 2018·Alternatives to Laboratory Animals : ATLA·Giovanni Rubeis, Florian Steger
Oct 23, 2020·BMJ Military Health·Adam MahoneyM Moffat