PETA Protesting Hurlburt Field

The animal rights group does not like how medics at at Air Force Base use pigs to simulate treating combat wounds. PETA says the exercises involve stabbing, shooting and killing the animals.

By: Jamie Burch | WKRG-TV
Published: February 18, 2009

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HURLBURT FIELD AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AP) - The animal rights
group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is protesting a
Panhandle Air Force special operations base.
The organization wants some answers for Air Force officials
about how its medics at Hurlburt Field use pigs to simulate
treating combat wounds.
PETA researcher Shalin Gala says the exercises involve stabbing,
shooting and killing the animals.
But Dr. Mark Ervin, the base's medicine division chief, says the
training saves lives by giving medics a feel for treating massive
trauma to vital organs.
He says animals are used infrequently and that the military is
sensitive in how they are used.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)