Pentagon Blasts Pigs

Military researchers have dressed live pigs in body armor, strapped them into Humvee simulators and blown them up with explosives to study the link between roadside bomb blasts and brain injury.

Blasting pigs raises "red flags," said Martin Stephens, VP for animal research issues at the Humane Society of the United States. "This is a worthy goal, trying to prevent soldiers from being injured by roadside bombs," Stephens said. "I think the relevance of this is highly questionable. People are not pigs."

Scientists discovered details that will help protect troops, said Michael Leggieri, director of the Pentagon's Blast Injury Research Program. "The bottom line to everything we do in this program is to protect the soldier," he said.

U.S. car companies used live animals, including pigs, for crash tests until the early 1990s. They stopped after protests from animal rights groups, such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Source: usatoday