Revealed: MoD Killing Animals for Cruel Training

Earlier this month, the UK military participated in invasive and deadly animal-based trauma training exercises in Denmark. British surgeons took part in drills in which live pigs were lined up at a firing range and shot with high-velocity bullets. Eighteen pigs sustained life-threatening multi-organ injuries and bone fractures in the archaic exercise, which took place between 6 and 8 November in Jaegerspris Kaserne. Animals who didn’t die during the exercise were later killed.

Maiming animals in this way is not allowed in the UK under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 – which does not permit the use of animals for trauma training. For this reason, these cruel biennial exercises are outsourced to Denmark.

PETA has appealed to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to end the British Armed Forces’ participation in these cruel drills. More than three-quarters of the UK’s NATO allies – including Albania, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey – have confirmed that they do not use any animals for military training.

Lifelike human simulators that “breathe” and “bleed” in realistic battlefield scenarios have been shown by military and civilian trauma teams to prepare doctors and medics to treat injured humans more effectively than animal laboratories. Studies show that simulators are better at improving the technical skills, self-confidence and coordination of doctors and medics who are deployed for military missions. However, a recent response to a Freedom of Information request made by PETA suggests that the MoD has not adequately considered nor implemented such superior non-animal trauma training methods, which are used instead of animals by the overwhelming majority of the UK’s NATO allies.

Please take a moment to contact the MoD and politely let it know that its decision to ship out members of the armed forces for deadly and cruel exercises in Denmark – which would be illegal if conducted in the UK – is impossible to justify medically, ethically and educationally. Also urge the MoD to join the overwhelming majority of the UK’s NATO allies who do not shoot, stab and dismember animals for their military training exercises.

You can contact the MoD here.