Victory! Idaho State Stops Killing Dogs in Trauma Training Course

Idaho State University will stop using and killing dogs from a local animal shelter in an Advanced Trauma Life Support class in Pocatello, the school announced on Friday, Nov. 7. Instead, ISU will employ nonanimal instruction methods widely used by other institutions. The announcement came two days after PCRM filed a complaint with the federal government about the use of animals in the course.

PCRM's complaint, which pointed out that the school's dog use violated the federal Animal Welfare Act, sparked media coverage across the state. Hundreds of concerned citizens and PCRM members contacted the school to urge an end to the use of animals in the course.

As PCRM's Dr. John Pippin told one local TV station: "It's especially inhumane and especially indefensible when there are alternatives in hand which not only would spare the animals the trauma of going through this but also would provide a better educational experience."

Across the nation, more than 90 percent of Advanced Trauma Life Support, or ATLS, courses are taught using only human-based simulators. But a handful of institutions continue to use live animals. Until today, that handful included Idaho State University.

Documents obtained by PCRM under Idaho’s Public Records Act revealed that the Pocatello Animal Shelter was turning lost or surrendered pets—including a black-and-white border collie picked up when he was still trailing his blue leash—over to ISU for these lethal procedures. In addition, ISU faculty sometimes used shock collars to keep dogs from barking. These dogs were also subjected to unnecessary stress and pain during transport, housing, and preparation for the course.

The use of dogs in the course drew strong opposition from the Idaho Humane Society. "The people relinquishing their animals to the shelters—and these were either stray animals and some of them were owned animals—did not know that the animal would end up being utilized for medical training," IHS executive director Jeff Rosenthal told a Boise TV station. "And I think that's part of the problem here."

On November 5, 2008, PCRM filed an official complaint with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (PDF), citing the unlawful use of live animals by ISU. The complaint cites an ongoing 2007-2008 survey by PCRM, which has so far received responses from 193 U.S. and Canadian facilities offering ATLS courses. The survey has found that 176 of those facilities (more than 90 percent) exclusively use nonanimal models for instruction. In addition, the vast majority of those 176 facilities, including ISU’s Boise campus, exclusively use the TraumaMan System.

ISU now says the class in Pocatello will also use nonanimal models for instruction.

Learn more about PCRM's campaign to end the use of animals in trauma training classes >>

Posted Nov. 7, 2008.

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