For immediate release:
Jul 15, 2021
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
Washington – As the Cobra Gold military exercises for several countries and the U.S. Marine Corps begin this week in Thailand, PETA has today filed a complaint with Vice Admiral John W. Fuller, Inspector General of the Navy, alleging that the so-called Cobra Gold Survival Exercise Live animals – annual fraternity-style parties disguised as training – that are part of a month-long event violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). The Marine Corps is part of the United States Department of the Navy.
During Cobra Gold 2020, US Marines and instructors killed chickens with their bare hands, skinned and ate live geckos, ate live scorpions and tarantulas, decapitated cobras and drank their blood, and enjoyed ritualistic killing and animal consumption. PETA notes that because these actions would violate US animal cruelty laws, they “discredit the military,” and senior officers who order troops to participate have engaged in “conduct inappropriate for an officer and a gentleman.” All of this violates the UCMJ.
“The Marine Corps reputation suffers every time someone shows a photo of a Marine sucking the blood of a cobra,” says PETA veterinarian and Air Force veteran Ingrid Taylor. “PETA is urging the Office of the Naval Inspector to stop using animals in this gruesome fraternal party and reprimand any high-ranking officer who orders the Marines to forgo propriety in favor of bloodlust.”
The Marine Corps promotes these Cobra Gold drills in some cases as food preparation training and in other cases as camaraderie – both can be achieved through time-tested animal-free activities.
PETA, whose motto is in part that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way,” is opposed to arrogance, a worldview focused on human superiority. The group previously filed a rulemaking petition, available here, to end the use of animals at Cobra Gold. For more information please visit PETA.org; follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram; or click here.