News In Brief

Army given OK to use pigs and goats in gunshot tests

Congress has voted to bar the Army from shooting cats and dogs so that its surgeons can practice gunshot wound surgery on them - but they will still be able to experiment on pigs, goats and other animals.

The ban on using cats and dogs resulted from a public uproar over the disclosure four months ago that 80 anesthetized dogs were due to be shot at the nation's military medical school in Bethesda, Md.

The chairman of a local humane society, People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, immediately protested the new ruling. ''What they're saying is spare the cute ones but shoot the rest of them,'' said Alex Pacheco.