Hasn’t the use of live animals for this training reduced battlefield fatalities?
While there are competing viewpoints among military experts as to whether the battlefield fatality rate has declined in recent years, no conclusive evidence has been presented to support a direct link between the use of animals in combat trauma training courses and improvements in survival. In fact, in a March 29, 2009, Baltimore Sun article, Ronald F. Bellamy, M.D., one of the Army’s leading authorities on combat casualty statistics, claimed that the overall death rate for wounded soldiers has not improved over historical measures. More wounded are surviving to reach hospitals (attributed to the use of body armor, not field medical care as claimed by the military). But a higher percentage are dying after reaching hospitals (attributed to the severity of injuries). Dr.
