PETA plans to protest use of live cats in Texas Tech medical training exercise

May 27th, 2009 |

Author: admin

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Alex Ybarra

Issue date: 5/27/09 Section: News

Although it did not directly involve the university, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, is somewhat familiar with Texas Tech, having protested the treatment of elephants during The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus at the City Bank Coliseum on April 21.

Now the animal rights group is back.

PETA has scheduled a protest Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. at the corner of University Avenue and Broadway, where it hopes to shed light on the Health Sciences Center’s use of live cats in the medical training exercise Pediatric Advanced Life Support, or PALS.

“Students at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center are ramming tubes down the throats of cats and stabbing needles into their chests in the course of cruel and outdated training exercises,” said Ian Smith, a research associate for PETA. “These are exercises that the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association both endorse the use of simulators for and not animals.”

Health Sciences Center officials said in a statement the training in question is provided to first responders and others who have specialized training needs – not Health Sciences Center medical students.

“The cats are used by many students,” Smith said. “The procedure is so dramatic. In one procedure they have the hard plastic tube repeatedly forced down their throat, with several students performing this procedure, students who are not yet proficient with these skills.”

According to the American Heart Association, the program’s sponsor, the PALS program is designed to instruct pediatric health care providers how to manage critically ill infants and children, and the use of live animals in any of its training courses is not required or endorsed. However, if a training site decides to use live animals, it must be identified as not being a part of the association’s course.

In Tech’s case, the administered training is separate from the American Heart Association.

“The TTUHSC School of Medicine teaches life-saving health care techniques using laboratory animals,” Health Sciences Center officials said in a statement. “All personnel involved have the highest regard for animal welfare. Internal and external policies and procedures and oversight assure full compliance with Federal, State, and TTUHSC regulations.”

According to the Health Sciences Center’s statement, the cats bought from Animal Control in Odessa already are slated for euthanasia and simulate real-world situations that are vital for saving the lives of infants and children.

“General anesthesia is administered to the cats which renders them free of pain and distress during the procedure, and they are closely attended until given humane euthanasia,” officials said in the statement.

Furthermore, the Health Sciences Center School of Medicine uses both laboratory animals and simulation (mannequins), according to the statement.

PETA discovered the school used six cats in the past year and admitted to using cats for the last 20 years, Smith said, and the group has tried to work with Tech for several months but no response was given, so last week the protest was planned and PETA asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to look into Tech’s use of live cats.

“I think it’s literally a matter of life and death,” Smith said. “I’m optimistic that Texas Tech will change course. We’ve been trying to make clear to them how out of sync they are with the rest of the medical community and how out of sync they are with their colleagues because so few people use animals to teach these skills.”