NORFOLK, Va. – U.S. Coast Guard medics have stopped using military contractors who intentionally injure sedated animals so that medics can practice treating combat wounds.
Spokeswoman Lisa Novak said in a phone interview Thursday that the practice was suspended in January. A working group will decide if the training will continue.
The so-called "live tissue training" involved anesthetized goats.
Novak said she didn't know what led to the suspension. In 2012, an activist group released a video of a goat's legs being removed with tree trimmers during what it said was Coast Guard training.
Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard, a California Democrat, wrote in The Hill newspaper on Thursday that she had raised concerns with the Coast Guard. She said most Americans are against the practice.
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