ASHEVILLE-SEPT2021

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Point of View Taxpayers Are Funding Cruel and Outdated DOJ Training Programs That Kill Animals By Stephen R. Kaufman, MD It makes no sense to continue wasting both tax dollars and animals’ lives. When I went to medical school in the 1980s, it was standard practice to have students cut apart live dogs and other animals as part of the curriculum to teach them medical skills and concepts. Since then, these crude and cruel animal labs have been abandoned in medical schools and advanced surgical courses in favor of realistic human simulators that are more humane, cost-efficient and effective. Apparently, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) didn’t get the memo about this. According to federal contracts uncovered by taxpayer watchdog White Coat Waste Project (WCW), for which I serve as a volunteer medical adviser, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (both under the DOJ) have still been conducting “live tissue training” (LTT) courses. LTT is a euphemism for inflicting traumatic, life-threatening injuries on live animals to teach certain emergency medical procedures. As DOJ funding panel Chairman Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-PA) and House Judiciary Committee member Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) astutely wrote in a letter to the DOJ in 2019, “LTT involves intentionally wounding live animals— usually stabbing, burning and shooting pigs and goats, and sometimes even dogs—and then having trainees crudely attempt to repair the damage… The use of animals for this training is expensive, obsolete, unnecessary and opposed by most Americans.” Many of the animals die from these traumatic injuries during the courses, and even those who survive are killed at the end. The federal government’s own studies show that human simulators like the Cut Suit, TraumaMan and TOM- Manikin that mimic human anatomy—even replicating bleeding and breathing—are more effective and economical than these outdated animal labs. Unlike the animals who are purchased, transported, dismembered, killed and thrown away after every LTT course, each simulator can train many students and can be reused time and again. Even the U.S. Defense Department states in a 2016 report that LTT is “outdated and cost-prohibitive” and a 2017 report from the Pentagon says that “live tissue training options are not anatomically accurate.” An Army-funded study at Yale concluded in 2015, “it is clear that simulated training costs less than live tissue training.” And a 2020 U.S. military-funded study concluded that human simulation is an effective replacement for LTT. Nearly every civilian trauma training program in the country now teaches lifesaving skills using simulation, too. Adding insult to injury, the DOJ has already spent taxpayers’ money to purchase high-tech trauma simulators, but has continued to waste $131,793 on recent, completely unnecessary LTT courses anyway. The DOJ can’t defend this waste and abuse, so instead it tried to keep the details a secret, and it took a federal lawsuit by White Coat Waste Project to pry away relevant documents from the agency. A majority of Americans on both sides of the aisle want change and support doing away with this outdated practice. A June 2020 national survey of 1,000 taxpayers by Lincoln Park Strategies found that 63 percent of them —which included 66 percent of Republicans surveyed and 65 percent of Democrats surveyed—backed the effort to ask the DOJ to defund LTT. As a physician, medical educator and animal advocate, I oppose this senseless waste of tax dollars and animals’ lives. There needs to be political support from leaders like members of Congress and Attorney General Merrick Garland to take swift and decisive action to cut live tissue training from the curriculum. Stephen R. Kaufman, MD, is a board-certified ophthalmologist and assistant professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. He is also a volunteer medical adviser for the nonprofit White Coat Waste Project, which works to end taxpayer-funded animal experiments. ANIMAL MATTERS PAGE 4 • CRITTER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2021
Animal Haven of Asheville P.O. Box 9697 Asheville, NC 28815 • 828-299-1635 • animalhavenofasheville.org CHECK OUT OUR FACEBOOK PAGE AND ‘LIKE’ US! BONNIE Animal Haven of Asheville Fall Fundraiser! Sunday, October 17 — 2 - 6 pm Join us at the sanctuary for live music by Southern Style Band, vegan food, beer, wine, soda, water, silent auction and more. Visit the animals, shop at our thrift store, sit back & relax. $25 cover charge - all proceeds benefit the animals in our care. Children under 12 free. Off-site parking · Follow the signs · Shuttle provided. 65 Lower Grassy Branch Rd. in East Asheville. No advance tickets. 828-299-1635. LET YOUR OLD STUFF DO GOOD STUFF! Downsizing? De-cluttering? Donate your gently used items to our Thrift Shop. Donations may be dropped off during store hours: Tuesday through Saturday 11 am - 5 pm 65 Lower Grassy Branch Rd. (off Tunnel Rd.) All donations are tax-deductible! NOW OPEN! 989 Little Mountain Road Columbus, NC FoothillsHumaneSociety.org 828-863-4444 Seeking volunteer dog walkers & fosters. Mention this ad for free nail trim with a regular office visit! www.CatClinicofAsheville.com 49 Haywood Rd. Asheville, NC 28806 828-645-7711 catclinicofasheville@gmail.com CHAMP is one great dog! When he was brought in as a stray, we were sure that he belonged to someone. He was obviously well cared for and in great shape! But Champ did not have a family come forward for him and he is now looking for a new one. Champ is a 7-year old Australian Shepherd mix weighing 64 lbs. He walks well on leash and is very friendly. He loves to run around outside and we love to watch his lion mane flap with him. He’s very dignified and looking to be the champion! If you are interested in Champ, please fill out an application online through our website. DONATIONS MAKE THE DIFFERENCE ... UNTIL THEY ALL HAVE A HOME! Adoption Hours: Mon & Tue 11 am-5 pm Thu-Sat 11 am-5 pm / Sun 1-5 pm CRITTER MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2021 • PAGE 5
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ASHEVILLE-SEPT2021

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