University of South Carolina Halts Live Pig Training

The University of South Carolina (USC) has announced that it will end the use of live pigs as part of its emergency physician training. “We are not planning to seek renewal of the live animal training program at this time,” an official statement reads. Instead, USC will rely on technological simulations which do not require the use of animals, a procedure the university confirms is a viable alternative. “In doing so, we affirm our belief that preparing health care providers for the preservation of human life is our greatest responsibility, and we are confident that this change will not adversely affect the quality of our training program,” the university statement reads. USC’s decision was prompted by a lawsuit filed by vegan association Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) on August 25 which alleged that the university violated the Animal Welfare Act. While 18 other emergency residence programs continue to train potential doctors using live animals, in July, the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga became the last medical school in the United States and Canada to opt out of mandatory training on live animals after similar pressure from PCRM.