The UK government will no longer use goats to test submarine escape procedures, it has been announced.

Goats were being used by the Ministry of Defence to investigate the risk of submariners getting decompression illness – the dreaded ‘bends’ – after bailing out of submarines. Goats’ respiratory systems are apparently similar enough to humans’ to make the experiments worthwhile.

Animal rights campaigners have previously complained about the experiments.

“The testing programme was aimed at improving the accuracy of the information relating to the likely probability and consequence of decompression illness following escape from a submerged submarine in varying depths and internal submarine pressures,” said defence minister Derek Twigg in a written statement to Parliament. “This requirement has now been achieved, and the review has concluded that the remaining associated areas of uncertainty in submarine escape and rescue relate to events that are considered highly unlikely, and do not therefore need to be addressed by means of animal testing.”

According to a ministry official the goats were put in decompression chambers rather than actually submerged. “They were never placed under water and they were not alone. Other goats were in there too,” the official told the Guardian.

This would mean they were not placed in the frankly awesome submarine escape training tower which the Royal Navy sometimes lets divers play in (video).

The story was also picked up by the Daily Telegraph, AP, BBC)

Other goat news: rare Himalayan goats facing death because of heavy snow (Hindustan Times, AFP, Reuters).

Image: USDA