Live pigs blown up in government terrorism experiments

Live pigs are being blown up as part of a series of government terrorism experiments at Porton Down, the government's secret military research laboratory.

By Amy Willis
Published: 1:43PM GMT 24 Jan 2010

Eighteen pigs wrapped in protective Kevlar blankets were blasted in a bid to help scientists understand more about the effects of bomb blasts on victims.

The animals were placed less than three yards from an explosive. Before being blown up, tubes were inserted into their blood vessels and bladders, and their spleens were removed.

A wire was also put into a major abdominal blood vessel to ensure the vessel became lacerated in the explosion.

The Kevlar blankets were used to protect the animals from minor bomb debris and the animals were anaesthetised throughout.

Scientists wanted to find out how long the animals survived when more than a third of their blood had drained from their bodies.

Medics hope the experiments will help British soldiers in Afghanistan as well as casualties of terror attacks like the July 2005 bombing of the London Underground and a double-decker bus.

In particular these results should help them understand how to control haemorrhaging in bomb blast victims.

But Norman Baker, the Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, questioned the use of live animals in military experiments.

Talking to the Sunday Times he said: “These are revolting and unnecessary experiments. Sadly, we are too familiar with the effects of terrorism. It is perfectly possible to find out things we don’t know without blowing up pigs to find out.”

A spokeswoman for Porton Down said anecdotally there was already evidence that the research was helping to save lives.

She said: “This work is part of our broad combat casualty care programme. Anecdotally, we are seeing evidence of people surviving because of this work.”

The facility at Porton Down, in Wiltshire, was originally set up during the first world war to research chemical warfare.

No pigs survived the experiments.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/7066382/Live-pigs-blown-up-in-government-terrorism-experiments.html