Live pigs wounded, euthanized in troop trauma training

EXCLUSIVE: Live pigs wounded, euthanized in troop trauma training

By MARK WALKER and COLLEEN MENSCHING - mlwalker@nctimes.com, cmensching@nctimes.com

More details are emerging about the wounding and later euthanizing of pigs at a Valley Center avocado grove where local Marines and sailors are being taught how to perform emergency first aid. Authorities won't comment on reports some pigs are being shot and others stabbed.

Wounding animals to train troops for battlefield carnage has been criticized by groups such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. The organization has asked the military to halt the practice, petitioning the Obama administration for an executive order instituting a ban.

The "live tissue training" exercises provide Navy medical corpsmen, doctors and frontline troops with the skills needed to save lives by learning how to staunch bleeding from massive wounds and open blocked airways, the Marine Corps said.

Pigs are given an anesthetic and pain medication before being wounded and are euthanized when the procedures are complete. Officials will not say how the pigs are wounded, but the animal rights organization claims that pigs used in similar training are stabbed, shot, and in some cases, poisoned.

According to Department of Defense regulations, alternatives to using animals must be used if they provide "equivalent results." The department prohibits using weapons to wound dogs, cats, marine mammals and "nonhuman primates" such as monkeys for medical training purposes. Pigs are not protected by the regulation.

The I Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Pendleton said training with pigs is vital.

"Live tissue training saves lives of Marines and sailors on the battlefield," a spokesman said in a written statement, adding it has "proven to be the single most effective medical training method for teaching combat casualty care as well as combat trauma management and cannot be replaced or replicated by a simulator."

The training came to light after a noise complaint was filed against Dave Bishop, a retired Marine and Escondido police officer who owns a 17-acre parcel west of Lilac Road where the exercises take place.

County officials this week asked Bishop to reduce the volume of noise coming from broadcast sounds of battle that include gunfire and helicopters.

Efforts to reach Bishop on Wednesday were unsuccessful. He previously told the North County Times that he has had local troops and law enforcement agencies training on his property since January and that he does not receive payment for the use of his land.

The training

This week's training is being conducted by Deployment Medicine International of Gig Harbor, Wash. Multiple efforts to reach a spokesman for the private company by telephone and e-mail were not immediately successful.

The Marine Corps has a one-year, $1 million contract with Deployment Medicine for the local training. The Marine Corps said the company provides the pigs.

Its courses are reviewed by the staff of the Field Medical Training Battalion based at Camp Lejeune, N.C. In addition, a veterinarian reviews the protocols for animal care to ensure that the training complies with Department of Defense standards.

"The animals used are anesthetized, provided pain medication, monitored by veterinary technicians, and are euthanized after all procedures are complete," the Marine Corps said in a prepared statement. "The veterinary standards are very high and in keeping with established procedures and protocols.

"The I Marine Expeditionary Force considers this training to be critical to adequately prepare both our medical staff and some select Marines prior to combat deployment. All such training is conducted under strict guidelines to ensure the animals' welfare."

San Diego County officials became aware of the training last week and dispatched observers this week, said Lt. Dan DeSousa of the Animal Services division.

"The animals are being treated humanely," DeSousa said Wednesday. "The pigs are heavily sedated so they don't feel any pain and they are never brought up to consciousness."

He refused to divulge how the pigs are being wounded.

'Treated with respect'

An Animal Services officer and a county medical operations official witnessed the training on Tuesday and were back on site Wednesday, DeSousa said.

"They are making sure the animals are not suffering any pain," he said. "The people going through this training are told not to consider the pig an animal, but their buddy who has been wounded and to treat them with respect."

The Marine Corps began developing its version of the training in 2006. The Army and various special forces groups also take part in the training.

Its emergence at sites around the country in recent years has drawn rebukes from PETA, which contends there are simulators and other devices that can provide the same training.

"Our concerns are for the animals," said Shalin Gala, a laboratory methods specialist at the organization's office in Norfolk, Va. "They are continuing to shoot, stab and poison live pigs, goats and monkeys in these outdated trauma training exercises."

Gala said that pigs and other animals used in live tissue training have anatomies that are very dissimilar to that of a human being.

"Most medical schools do not use animals," he said. "They've switched to simulators and mannequins."

In February, the group wrote Deployment Medicine International officials a letter urging the use of live animals be stopped. It also petitioned President Barack Obama to intervene and stop it. To date, there has been no response, Shalin said, adding that some members of Congress are contemplating asking the Defense Department to ban the practice.

'Warrior healers'

Joe Garcia, who shares a property line with Bishop, says he isn't bothered the noise emanating from Bishop's property and supports using live animals.

"When it comes down to training, it's about saving lives, whether it's on public property or private property," he said.

Deployment Medicine's combat trauma management course is outlined on the company's Web site, where it says the intent is "training warriors to become warrior healers."

"Our mission is to train you to be your best when your best is needed in combat," the site says in bold letters.

One- and two-day training courses are offered, and pigs are used to teach troops how to control and stop massive hemorrhaging and airway blockages. The company says it provides a full briefing on the rules and regulations of live tissue training and teaches students the responsibilities of animal control and maintenance.

Its training is conducted, the Web site says, at Valley Center, Fredericksburg, Va., and Pink Hill, N.C., the latter a site near Camp Lejeune.

Call staff writer Mark Walker at 760-740-3529. Call staff writer Colleen Mensching at 760-739-6675.

Ellie