What do you get when PETA teams up with Chuck D of Public Enemy and his wife, Dr. Gaye Theresa Johnson, a professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara; Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine; Serj Tankian of System of a Down; Fletcher Dragge of Pennywise; and every member of Anti-Flag? I'd say you get the most impressive band of musical talent ever to rage against the U.S. military's animal-abuse machine.

100xr / CC

Each of the notables listed above has signed PETA's petition calling on the Department of Defense to end the gruesome, hideously cruel abuse of animals in training exercises, which include stabbing, shooting, and burning live pigs, cutting off goats' legs,and poisoning monkeys. There are better ways to train medics that don't rely on tormenting animals.

Caring people are demanding that the U.S. military follow Bolivia's lead by banning all animal abuse in military training exercises. Join the fight by adding your name to our petition.

Posted by Karin Bennett

The U.S. military has declared war on animals by burning, stabbing, and shooting them in unnecessary training exercises, and it's time to fight back! Animals need you to enlist in the army of animal lovers willing to speak out against these cruel exercises. If you go above and beyond the call of duty for this mission, you'll be in with a great chance to win an iPod shuffle.

Enlist Now
Join the battle for animals by signing our Facebook petition to end military trauma training on animals.

Recruit Your Friends
Click "Ask Friends to Sign" on the petition page to recruit your friends to this cause. The more invites you send out, the more people you will recruit. Tell them how live pigs are shot, stabbed, and burned; live goats have their legs broken with bolt cutters and cut off with shears; and live monkeys are poisoned with harmful chemicals.

Go Home Victorious
The individual who collects the most petition signatures by September 10, 2009 wins the iPod Shuffle. We'll announce the winner on September 14, 2009.

Share the petition on your Facebook wall and everywhere else you can. The harder you fight, the larger the impact you'll make, and the greater the chance is that you'll go home with an iPod in hand.

Please take action today for all the monkeys, pigs, sheep, and other nonhuman victims killed in military training. Humane, responsible training is essential in our effort to work toward a peaceful world. Learn more about this campaign at PETA.org/trauma.

Heads up: By entering the contest you're acknowledging that you've read and agreed to our privacy policy and terms and conditions.

Good luck, soldier!

Just like the Beach Boys, we wish they all could be California girls—because California girls put on one heck of a protest! Check out these Left Coast ladies in action outside Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, California:

Credit also goes to the California boys who attended the protest, including Scott Adams, a retired paramedic who used to teach trauma training courses (without using animals, of course). As he told a reporter for North County Times, "If I hadn't taught trauma, I probably wouldn't have formed such a strong opinion. They could use human cadavers; that would more closely mimic what they're trying to teach."

If you want to see for yourself what the protesters are up in arms about, check out the graphic photos that PETA has obtained of pigs who were stabbed, mutilated, and killed by Deployment Medicine International, the military contractor that conducts trauma training exercises for Camp Pendleton. After viewing the photos, please send an e-mail urging the government to stop stabbing and shooting animals and start using non-animal alternatives in all trauma training exercises.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

thespoof / CC

Y'all know how we feel about killing animals for "trauma training" by now, right? (Hint: It sucks—to put it mildly.)

Well, after learning that live pigs are reportedly being shot and stabbed in a California avocado grove owned by police officer David Bishop—all as part of trauma training exercises conducted by Washington-based Deployment Medicine International (DMI)—we were outraged. Not only is it unnecessary to mutilate and kill pigs—or any other animals—for trauma training, but to do so in an avocado grove may be illegal.

That's because Bishop's land isn't zoned for trauma or medical training exercises under the County of San Diego's zoning ordinances. Since San Diego County allows the director of its Department of Planning and Land Use to penalize zoning violators, we've fired off a letter to the current director, Eric Gibson, asking him to investigate Bishop and DMI for illegal activity.

Stabbing and shooting pigs to train medical personnel how to treat human injuries is positively medieval. With all the non-animal methods that are readily available, there are better models of human anatomy and physiology than pigs. Don't animals—and trauma victims—deserve better?

Posted by Jeff Mackey

militaryplaques / CC

This is hot off the press, folks. We just heard from an Army medic today that several goats who had been used in a trauma training exercise at Fort Lewis were allegedly discarded in sealed plastic bags even though they were still breathing.

The goats had been subjected to all sorts of horrific exercises, including having holes cut in their chests to relieve an induced massive buildup of pressure in their lungs, having their throats punctured, and having their ribs cracked open to expose their beating hearts, all before being injected with a chemical to induce cardiac arrest. Apparently, their vital signs weren't checked before they were chucked into trash bags like rotten produce.

PETA has been arguing for months that such trauma training exercises are in violation of Department of Defense (DOD) rules that bar the use of animals for training exercises if humane alternatives exist (which they do, in abundance). But even if the DOD isn't ready to cede that point, surely it can agree that suffocating animals in plastic bags is inexcusable.

Our whistleblower tells us that dozens more goats are slated to be used in trauma training exercises in the coming days and weeks, so we're wasting no time in demanding that the exercises be stopped immediately. Read our letter to Fort Lewis and then see our action alert on this topic here.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

deathpenaltyinfo / CC

In a move that is waaaay long past overdue, a military panel has recommended adding cruelty to animals to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which is the foundation of US military law. Hard to believe it wasn't already in there, but we're just glad it's in the works now.

Last year, PETA called for such a provision after a video of a Marine apparently throwing a live puppy off a cliff circulated on the Internet. If this new regulation is added, service personnel who commit such atrocities could be prosecuted specifically for cruelty to animals, as opposed to military authorities having to scramble to find some vaguely-worded offense, such as "unbecoming conduct," to file such crimes under.

The law is intended to address crimes like killing or abandoning companion animals, but maybe it will also add fuel to our case that lethal military trauma training exercises on animals violate military code too.

Before it can be added to the UCMJ, the new provision has to be approved by Congress. Congress, you know what you have to do.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

floridahumanist / CC

Did you know that in addition to being the award-winning director of Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July, Oliver Stone is a decorated Army veteran? He's earned a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart. Stone's interest in the military and his compassion for animals is what prompted him to write this morning to Bolivian President Evo Morales thanking Morales for enacting Bolivia's first animal-protection regulation. The Bolivian government banned the abuse of live animals in military training exercises after the release of video footage that showed conscious dogs who screamed in agony as soldiers stabbed the animals' chests and heads with knives. In the letter, Stone says, "I applaud your efforts and thank you from the bottom of my heart. With this move, you have set a lifesaving precedent that we hope others will follow."

Considering that Stone was such an esteemed member of our armed forces, maybe the Department of Defense (DoD) will take note. People like Stone who have served in the military think that using thousands of live animals each year in trauma- and chemical casualty–training exercises is cruel and unnecessary. How many servicemen and servicewomen have to cry foul before the DoD follows in Bolivia's footsteps?

Posted by Shawna Flavell

P.S. Oliver Stone also contributed an essay to Ingrid Newkirk's thought-provoking book One Can Make a Difference. Buy it now!

After less than a month of PETA campaigning, the Bolivian minister of defense went on that country's national television to announce an historic ban on all animal abuse in military training exercises, stating that the Bolivian government is issuing Resolution 217 to prohibit all acts of violence, exploitation, and mistreatment that provokes the death of animals. Not only has Bolivia beaten the U.S. military to the punch, this ban is also Bolivia's first military animal protection regulation ever.

This news comes as a direct result of PETA's and PETA Germany's campaigns, which were launched after horrific video footage was uncovered showing the Bolivian military's mutilation and killing of dogs in combat-training exercises. More than 20,000 supporters joined in the effort, including a leading Bolivian congresswoman, Ximena Flores Castro, who talked with PETA and then met with the defense minister in order to get the resolution on the books.

Resolution 217 puts an end to military training exercises in which dogs were mercilessly stabbed to death as they screamed in pain. Not one more animal—dog or otherwise—will have to suffer such a miserable fate at the hands of the Bolivian military. The resolution also includes sanctions for those who violate the regulation.

This is a giant step in the right direction for Bolivia, and we hope to continue working closely with government officials to enact more animal protection laws.

Everyone who spoke out against this cruelty deserves a big pat on the back! Let's keep up the momentum and urge the U.S. military to follow Bolivia's compassionate lead.

Other Viewing Options

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Over the past 16 months, PETA has waged a relentless campaign to end the military's archaic trauma-training exercises. In these exercises, thousands of live goats and pigs are shot, stabbed, cut apart, and burned, and monkeys are poisoned with nerve chemicals. We called on the Department of Defense (DoD) to investigate the military's methods immediately, and they appear to be taking our request seriously.

The DoD has chartered a Joint Analysis Team (JAT) to "examine the use of animals for medical education and training across the Services." The JAT will also submit a report containing "actionable recommendations" for the DoD to follow.

DoD regulations specifically state that non-animal methods must be used whenever scientifically valid and comparable alternatives are available. The DoD's use of live animals in trauma-training exercises is unnecessary. Various installations in the Air Force and Navy have been using alternatives, such as high-tech human patient simulators and rotations in trauma hospitals, for several years. Additionally, these second-rate training methods put our soldiers at risk.

We're hopeful that the JAT will come to the obvious conclusion that the DoD should end these cruel tests immediately and opt for more humane, educational alternatives. Check out the letter we sent to them about this issue here, and leave a comment to let us know what you think.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

In case it's never been said before, I'm going to go ahead and say it: Colorado activists rock!

Activists in Colorado Springs showed that they are fed up with Fort Carson for stabbing and reportedly burning and shooting live goats in bloody trauma-training exercises that attempt to mimic human battlefield injuries. They staked out a busy intersection near Fort Carson and got busy alerting commuters that the exercises are not only cruel but also archaic and unnecessary.

PETA "troops" expose Fort Carson's dirty little secret.

An activist makes darn sure that no driver gets by without getting the message.

PETA signs caught the attention of many military folk on their way to the Fort Carson base.

Oh, did I mention that some of the activists in attendance were ex-military? You know that things are shady when even former soldiers start breaking rank. (I can think of a few other soldiers who would probably agree.)

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

wannaveg / CC

Last month, PETA broke the news about barbaric U.S. Army trauma training exercises that were being conducted at a base camp in Hawaii, in which pigs were shot with high-powered rifles. Local Army officials there are standing by their false claims that these exercises are necessary to provide soldiers with the skill to treat trauma victims on the battlefield, even though it seems to us these exercises broke Army regulations by not using available alternatives to the primitive use of animals.

I guess we can sleep well knowing that if a soldier loses his tail during a raid, some well-trained fellow soldiers, thanks to this training, may be able to reattach the necessary posterior appendage.

Given the U.S. Army's apparent outright disregard for their own regulations and the treatment of these animals, PETA is now asking commanding officers at bases in Hawaii and Texas—where a more recent training exercise included breaking and amputating the legs of nearly 1,000 goats with tree trimmers—for a court martial over the shooting, mutilating, and killing of animals during these old-fashioned training exercises.

According to the Army's own regulations, the Army is required to use alternatives to animals in training exercises when scientifically valid and comparable alternatives exist. And they do! The animal exercise should have been replaced with validated, state-of-the-art simulators, such as the Department of Defense's own Combat Trauma Patient Simulator, which more realistically simulates battlefield conditions and, consequently, is considered superior to outdated animal methods. Other viable alternatives include Dr. Emad Aboud's "living" cadaver perfusion model, Simulab Corporation's TraumaMan system, and establishing military level one trauma centers in nearby communities in order to have trainees work with the community to take care of their city's population.

Kathy Guillermo, director of PETA's Laboratory Investigations Department, says, "The Army has regulations in place specifically to prevent this kind of cruelty to animals, but the oversight committee apparently chose to ignore them. Our soldiers deserve to be trained using the most advanced technology available—that means using human simulators."

The U.S. Army does not train soldiers to race into battle zones to retrieve injured pigs, goats, or dogs. That would be great, but let's face it: It's not the government's main agenda. Time, money, and resources could be far better spent.

You can take action on this issue here.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky