U.S. Army Wants to Defy German animal welfare laws

In defiance of Germany's animal welfare laws the U.S. Army is trying to get permission to attack pigs and other animals as "training exercises" for combat medicine. An example of these attacks is one soldier who shot a pig in the face with a high-powered rifle, then poured gasoline, set it on fire, and bragged about keeping it alive for 15 hours.

In my posted reply to this proposal I wrote: "Why add to the already tarnished image of the U.S. military by seeking to conduct cruel and deadly trauma so-called training exercises on animals in Oberpfalz -- exercises already denied by German officials who are trying to hold the U.S. army to the same moral standard practiced within their country.

The image and public relations of the U.S. Army still includes -- internationally -- suspected cavalier killing of civilians, mistreatment of prisoners, torture and other violations of internationally accepted standards of decency.

It illustrates further hubris and imperalism for the U.S. Army to insist on violating animal welfare laws in a sovereign nation."

PETA said "Oberpfalz officials have already denied the Army's previous application because they determined that this training would violate Germany's animal welfare law, since effective non-animal methods--which are already used by the German military--are available. Germany's own Armed Forces has written to PETA, stating: "[T]he armed forces do no animal tests for training purposes. For training exercises the soldiers learn with really good models and the doctors don't need animal experiments." The US Army's Alfred V. Rascon School of Combat Medicine at Fort Campbell also does not use animals in its trauma program . . . Clearly, animals are not needed to teach trauma management skills."

To take action:

https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3307&autologin=true&c=weekly_enews