March 2012
After more than two years of urging from PETA, the Naval Medical Center Portsmouth (NMCP) confirmed that it completely replaced its cruel use of ferrets for pediatric intubation training. During this training, ferrets had plastic tubes repeatedly forced down their delicate windpipes as many as 10 times each session. Repeated intubation in ferrets can cause bleeding, swelling, pain, scarring, collapsed lungs, and even death. Instead of using animals, NMCP will now use only modern simulators that accurately replicate human anatomy and physiology and better teach this lifesaving skill.
