'To claim that using these animals is intended only for life-saving training in the IDF is a smoke screen and lie,' said a former IDF officer who underwent medical training.
YOAV ZITUN: Israel’s defense establishment, including the IDF, has in recent years conducted experiments on hundreds of animals, including dogs, goats and sheep. A large number of the animals were either killed or harmed at the conclusion of these experiments, which are being carried out under the auspices of a high level of security classification that deters transparency on this controversial matter.
The data from the Defense Ministry obtained by the Let the Animals Live organization through the Freedom of Information Act refers only to the experiments conducted between 2017 and 2018. The Defense Ministry said that data on experiments that carried out in the past year and a half has “yet to be transferred to the Health Ministry.”
The list of experiments for those two years alone includes experiments on 40 dogs, 25 goats, 10 sheep, 154 pigs, 25 guinea pigs, 160 fat sand rats (rodents of medium size), 10 mice and 186 rats… According to information obtained by Ynet, some animals have been used to simulate multi-casualty maritime incidents. Pigs are most widely used for medical experiments during military training, due to the similarity in heart structure and respiratory tract to that of human…
According to information supplied by the Health Ministry, the levels of animal suffering in these trials ranges from level 2 (mild and temporary discomfort) to level 4 (potential for causing pain, suffering or moderate discomfort, persistent disruption in the general condition or normal activity of an animal). Nonetheless, none of the ministry levels, not even the highest, includes killing animals during an experiment, as happens in IDF procedures on live pigs. This omission casts doubt on the reliability of the Defense Ministry data.
The IDF and the Ministry of Defense refuse to disclose the purpose of the experiments, saying only that some are performed during training by IDF doctors and paramedics for the purpose of saving human lives… Some within the IDF itself have criticized the fact that despite significant technological developments in recent years, alternatives are not yet used. These alternatives include advanced sensors, sophisticated mannequins, simulators and monitoring devices that allow officials to examine the effects of explosives and weapons blasts…
Israel’s various defense branches have previously conducted experiments on the impact of a shock wave or a powerful explosive on an animal’s body. “To claim that using these animals is intended only for life-saving training in the IDF is a smoke screen and lie,” a former IDF officer who underwent medical training told Ynet. “In medical training around the world, including the most prestigious universities, smart dolls have long been used,” says the former officer. “There are other animal experiments that are cruel and are therefore hidden from public scrutiny”…
The Let the Animals Live organization called for full transparency in order to protect the animals that have been forced into experimentation. “It’s time to reveal what’s going on in the animal testing industry,” the group said. “The lack of transparency guarantees that the animals used in the defense establishment are suffering greatly. The released levels of suffering indicate a violent and unnecessary death for hundreds of animals who never sought to participate in such experiments.” The group also says there are widely available, effective alternatives to animal testing. “It is time for the defense establishment to set an example and adopt research methods that do not involve unnecessary suffering for innocent animals,” the group said. SOURCE…
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