A multi-center study for the Pentagon that compares combat-medic training with mannequins and goals -- with goats being the standard -- has caught the attention of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
University of South Florida’s Center for Advanced Medical Learning and Simulation is one of the study sites, and is scheduled to train 30 Florida National Guard combat medics this weekend.
As the Tampa Bay Times reports, the traditional training involves deliberately inflicting wounds on anesthetized goats -- including broken legs, amputations, and life-threatening gunshot wounds -- then treating the animals.
The USF CAMLS center trains health-care professionals using sophisticated mannequins and would not appear to have any facilities useful for the goat studies. But USF declined to discuss what exactly its involvement will be.