Get Your Goat?

Group Hacks Up Live Goats

PETA has released horrific new under-cover video evidence, allegedly taken at a Virginia Beach, Virginia Coast Guard Training course, that shows goats being mutilated — while alive. Although the people depicted in the video are blurred and are not wearing uniforms, PETA states that the video does “show military instructors contracted by the Coast Guard cutting off an anesthetized goat’s legs in Virginia Beach.”

According to PETA, Tier 1 Group, a company reported to be hired by the military, can be seen “breaking and cutting off the limbs of live goats with tree trimmers, stabbing the animals, and pulling out their internal organs. Goats moan and kick during the mutilations—signs that they had not received adequate anesthesia.” The person who leaked the video to PETA claims that later in the day some goats were “shot in the face with pistols and hacked apart with an ax while still alive.”

Lt. Cmdr. Jamie C. Frederick, spokesman for the Atlantic Area, in response to PETA’s call to the Pentagon to stop the practice, stated in an email, “Live anesthetized goats have been used in Coast Guard training to treat combat wounds, but the agency could not verify if the video involved its personnel. The courses do involve ‘live tissue training using live animals.’”

“Animals used in trauma training are supported and monitored by well-trained, experienced veterinary staff to ensure that appropriate anesthesia and analgesia prevent them from experiencing pain or distress,” added Frederick.

Military training exercises that use live animals are supposed to simulate the types of injuries a soldier can receive on the battlefield. It is also supposed to allow the soldiers to practice saving the lives of their comrades. Although the Department of Defense requires that “alternatives to animals be used when available,” the policy is “not being enforced,” and thousands of animals continue to die each year in military training exercises.

While the identity of the group in the video is questionable, the fact remains that the acts are heinous, and animals are suffering.

Click here to send a letter to stop this cruel practice.

WARNING: VIDEO IS NSFW. This video contains horrific footage that will turn your stomach. Please watch at your own risk and preferably not right after eating. Really. If you have a weak stomach, don’t click play.

Read more at PETA and at Huffington Post.