PETA Members Call for End to Cruel and Archaic Use of Animals in Pediatric Course
For Immediate Release:
October 14, 2011
Contact:
Robbyn Brooks 202-483-7382
St. Louis, Mo. -- Dressed in a tuxedo, a costumed "cat" will lead PETA members—also dressed in formalwear and holding a banner that reads, "St. Louis Children's Hospital: End Cruel Cat Labs"—in a protest outside the St. Louis Children's Hospital Carousel Gala fundraiser on Saturday. The protesters will call for the hospital to use sophisticated humanlike simulators instead of live cats for intubation training in its Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) course.
When: Saturday, October 15, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Fox Theatre, 527 N. Grand Blvd., St. Louis
Currently, trainees repeatedly force plastic tubes down cats' windpipes—a cruel and archaic procedure that can cause bleeding and swelling in the tissue of the cats' throats as well as pain, scarring, collapsed lungs, and even death. The American Heart Association, which sponsors PALS, opposes the use of animals and exclusively recommends the use of human simulators, which have been shown to better prepare trainees to treat sick and injured babies and children. Saint Louis University, SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center, and St. Louis Community College all use only simulation methods for PALS intubation training.
"Shoving plastic tubes down cats' throats to train people to treat humans is cruel and ineffective and places St. Louis Children's Hospital out of step with modern medicine," says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo. "The hospital can save babies and protect animals by using modern medical simulation technology."
For more information, please visit PETA's website.
