In Safety Study, Sheep on Meth Are Shocked With Tasers

Thank you Popsci. Now I can never look at sheep the same way again.

hahahah wow what a bad day for sheep

Ever wonder what the sheep looks like in the front when Bubba is behind it?

So someone fibrillates after being shot with a taser, just shoot him again - problem solved.

that Sh!ts Fuc*d

I wonder very much where on earth that photo came from.

"The company has also teamed up with the Pentagon to develop shock cartridges for a grenade launcher."

That's intresting. Almost as much as methed sheep getting tasered.

Nice to highlight the imbalance in the study. Study by taser for taser. Big surprise that it shows limited or no side effects. Great way to counter lawsuits. Now all it needs is an uninvolved party to corroborate the results then it might have some weight.
On the other side of that defense wall I put up. I think anyone who uses any stimulant and creates problems doesn't have a leg to stand on because before they got high/drunk/whatever they were not high and had the conscious ability to measure the ramifications of becoming intoxicated.
As far as heart issue blames go though anyone on meth should educate themselves it causes irreversible brain and cardiovascular system damage. So if they die after being tasered it's likely because the meth damaged the cardiovascular system before the shock which just likely exacerbated the underlying issue.

the after photo is here.

www.gaykeywest.co.uk/Images/Flickerdalem%203/punk%20rock%20sheep_resize.jpg

This product needs to be tested on more Taser stockholders and less Taser employees and sheep

I'm no animal activist, but don't you think it's unfair to take innocent sheep, put them on meth, and tazer them for the safety of drug addicts who lets face it, if they died the world would be fine if not slightly better with out them?

just a thought

Ever feel how thick a sheep's wool coat is? It is about 4 inches thick and it is difficult to reach their hide. Try Tasering them through all that wool hair.

Do sheep get meth mouth, did eating weed lead to later meth use in sheep, wont the wool protect the sheep from the shocks a little, will counting meth sheep prevent you from falling asleep?

Would that be a sheep-leather handbag you're selling wowow?

How horrible =( poor sheep.

@ bombastinator:

I found where the image came from. It's from a 2007 New Zealand movie called 'Black Sheep'. I saw the commercial for it years ago and I thought that it was just a joke...but it's not...havn't seen it either but I'm not interested

As for the "maaaaaad as hell" subtitle, that's from Howard Beale's speech of the same name - listen to it, it's funny!

This should be a tshirt caption contest.

Man, that picture is hilarous. Anyone reminded of that Simpson's Episode?....TOMACCO!

Dear PopSci, that picture is incredibly misleading. A careful reading of the article indicates that the sheep were fully anesthetized when undergoing the test. The fast/casual browser is led to think there was some kind of terrible cruelty going on here...not to say that this research isn't whack. The experiment would be better controlled if the animals were awake as meth + adrenaline is more likely to give a nasty cardiac response.

That's immoral and unjustified cruelty. The "scientists" behind this experiment should be tasered after being forced to consume meth to get a taste of what they did to the helpless animals. Sadistic bastards.

dontbother, don't bother reading the comment above you.

Good grief
- Taser probably sponsored a study because it's a responsible thing to do. They know that their products will be used in these situations -- now they have some concept of how well they work. Plus they have an answer if they're challenged on this safety issue.

- Nobody is preventing anyone else from doing another study to verify/disprove the results.

- They used sheep because that's about all that they could do. They anesthetized them to e humane. Would be nice to be able to use a few hard core druggies for the test, but it's not going to happen.

@mkass84

yes. yes i am. now back on topic i also agree with Jedigeek93, to an extent. i agree its bad to test on animals but the fact that he wants to do it on a human instead and doesn't care if they die, well thats just wrong. must be one of those religious freaks that don't believe in second chances. also SHOULD(key word there) something die during this test, i would rather it be something that is not aware of its surrounding like a human

LOL! That picture of the sheep is brilliant! It certainly looks meth-addled or looking for some "tomacco!"

This picture looks like it was taken just moments before a photographers death!

Just get some meth users to sign a consent form, pay them a few dollars and then taz them. Leave the sheep alone.

LOL I LOVE IT LOL

Well at least this explains Ted Nugent

How do I sign up?

That's incredibly cruel and cowardly experimentation. It is also inaccurate as body size is always a factor where both drugs and tasers are concerned.

I propose that we find some Republican Teabagger types and perform this procedure on them. That would prove to be far more indicative of the true effects on humans. Not to mention entertaining.

Afterward, we could attach electrodes to the nuts of the sub-human vermin who are conducting these cruel and useless experiments and administer full amperage, for an indefinite amount of time.
According to one of them who posted earlier, as long as they are "fully anesthetized" no harm's been done.

This story is definitely gonna be on Colbert Report. That is a very disturbing picture...good thing it isn't real.

Tasers have been known to be a driving force for police brutality. If you've ever seen Colbert, you know that police have used Tasers in cases when they had an argument with someone and then they decided to settle the debate through the electric clause. Yea, its not gonna injure someone like a gun, but thats what the officer is counting on. Just because it doesn't give a visible wound doesn't mean that they should be allowed to use it. Law enforcement should be prohibited from using tasers unless the suspect has a weapon. I believe this research is not aimed at safety, rather that they give police more of a reason to use their tasers. How many methed up criminals actually need to be tased?

@ captainkona

perhaps you would like to volunteer to be the "guinea sheep" for this experiment if you don't like what they are doing to the animals..

i heard they were looking for human test subjects and we might be able to clean up the human gene pool a little bit

I've never been a big fan of the use of tasers on humans or sheep for that matter. I feel that there are much better systems of "less than lethal" use of force that need to put into practice. For instance, I recently came across a video about a new system the military has designed called "Active Denial". I uses a focused frequency to make a target feel like it's skin is burning, but as soon as the target moves back, the feeling subsides instantly and no real physical harm is done! It's pretty amazing to see. I'll post a link below if you want to check out for yourself. I'm pretty sure this system was not tested on sheep as well!

www.ndep.us/Hot-Stuff

Disturbing is an understatement...I’d like to know how does Taser, International gets away with deploying a device into the hands of law enforcement and security officers, sworn to protect and defend, that was never properly tested regarding its science, safety, application and deployment? That’s right! Read the February 19, 2009 case (#CV161436) of Butler v. Taser, International where a Dr. Zipes makes clear the false claims and Taser’s failure to conduct reasonable testing regarding cardiac risks associated with its devices, failure to adequately warn of known cardiac risks, issued misrepresentations and misleading statements and claims regarding medical and cardiac safety and acted (and still does) in total disregard to the safety of persons on whom the device was intended to be used on – all relevant factors in the ventricular fibrillation, cardiac arrest and ultimate brain damage/injury sustained by the victim (Butler); death the result in Canada on Oct 14. It also turns out that the proponents of Taser (they are bailing by the minute with Taser stock plummeting) are all shareholders (imagine that...a guy named Lower in Canada one of them - a supposed expert - a joke); I bet some of those 401K plans inside law enforcement-LE agencies have Taser stock included...! This is "legalized homocide" via "taser toxicity" at its finest! This is a very dark subject and law enforcment has been sold down the road in ignorance (now greed) and its time for the ignorance to stop and folks locked up! Taser's flawed technology (according to Zipes) coupled with their sales job eroding the force continuum has the security/LE arena in the most liable position it could find itself. Taser now thinks they are going to sue the Supreme Court of Canada - its only the beginning of their end, these crooks have to go. Excited delirium.com has add't information on this subject. LE agencies should be "demanding" their money back for the lies they were told! That's the truth!

@mkass84 That is an awesome simpsons episode.

Also what is happening to Popsci, it seems to be turning into a forum...

By the way, Black Sheep is a very funny movie.

"I've never been a big fan of the use of tasers on humans or sheep for that matter. "

haha you've encountered sheep tasering before?

hello.this is probly the most strangest expirment i heard so far.(were the scintests on the stuff too or just bored?)the subject is just so random to me.I'm just confused at why they used sheep?why not monkeys ,elephant,rats,or maybe even rhinos.

(excuse spelling)

captainkona that's a crazy amount of hate for some people who don't want the government to spend more money than we have. What's wrong with that?

So what do you want? To spend more money than we have?
Why is that good? Come to think of it, I've heard lots of hate like that, but never one explanation about why that's preferred to spending only the money we actually have.

Why is that such a bad thing? Don't spend more money than we have and crazy captainkona comes by with a taser. No I want us to spend lots of money we don't have. bzzt. Agree that spending money we don't have is actually smart. bzzt. Say "I want to borrow more money from China" bzzt. I want to borrow so much it's like paying the minimum on a huge credit card bill, you'll never be able to dig your way out. Say that's good. bzzt.

Why? I can see having a disagreement on things, even substantive disagreement on what to allocate resources to, but so much craziness and rage out there because some people don't want to spend money we don't have. It seems like that's the smart choice. Is there some reasoning I'm missing?

poor sheep. wht if they got addicted?

Wow thats pretty wild, wonder what made them think of that??

Lou
www.whos-watching.es.tc

@ mrbloody it may be harsh but its science science cannot create life so it must test on animals to increse our knoledge =]

-jonny-

my x

Human beings torture other animals in order to learn how to kill more effectively other people!!!
And this seems normal to some of them!
The Einstein´s "human stupidity" at work AGAIN

I wish animals could find their way despite human cruelty, ignorance and cowardice.

What is it with all you morons out there thinking that animals should have the same rights as us. Are you retarded? They are food not friends. These are not the dogs and cats lying on your couch. These are animals that we fed and provided for their entire lives for the soul purpose of our consumption. Even if they are not eaten after this experiment at least they served a purpose. I say we do the test again, and where is the youtube vidieo?

What is it with all you morons out there thinking that animals should have the same rights as us. Are you retarded? They are food not friends. These are not the dogs and cats lying on your couch. These are animals that we fed and provided for their entire lives for the soul purpose of our consumption. Even if they are not eaten after this experiment at least they served a purpose. I say we do the test again, and where is the youtube vidieo?

yeah. They've been doing taser testing for a long time now.
There's a whole lot of footage of early military experiments on pigs for instance that PETA likes to pass around.

"Black Sheep" is so freakin epic. Thank you for that picture and laugh this morning :)

www.freebord.com/ride <-- Snowboard the Streets!

I went to the source article and as a professional animal scientist I was surprised that there was no Veterinarian on the research team. It is is illegal for a Veterinarian to work on people, and I thought it was illegal for a MD to work on an animal without a consulting Animal Scientist or Vet.

I have to note we had a bull get out and loose one time and a very helpful Sheriff deputy was helping us try to recapture him and keep him off the highway. He asked what we thought a tazer would do. After chasing this bull through three fences and fields I said try it. Wow I don't want to get one used on me. It dropped that 2,000 pound bull like a rock. Long enough we got a three ropes on him.

Cruel, inhumane, unnecessary - just a couple of words that come to mind when I read this article. Is this really science, drugging up animals, and then torturing them with electric shocks? This is something out of the dark ages, not an experiment that a civilized and advanced society would do. We have computers for this kind of thing people! Let's use our intelligence, expertice, and compassion and conduct our experiments using computer-generated models and computer programs. And leave the innocent animals out of this.

Animals are routinely used for various studies, including medical training. Although pigs or goats are typically used. The military has established protocols and qualified vets supervise.

Police have a tough job. Violent, drugged, and drunk folks can hurt a lot of people. If not tasers, what options are left? The police can beat the offender into submission with a night stick, spray them with pepper spray (not always effective), or shoot them. Pick one.

Police officers want to go home to their families, too.

Tasers have overall dramatically reduced injuries on both sides. Trying to figure out the rare death's cause is tough, especially when money is involved.

I don't own stock in taser nor am I supporting brutality. I do suggest folks watch the reality tv shows to see the amount of abuse police take. Those who have traveled abroad can testify we have the best police system in the world even with the mistakes.

@Woods E Houghton Fascinating to hear, thanks! I'm guessing the usual treatment rules may be somewhat different in lab studies ...

I'm waiting to see the movie based on this: "Taser Boyz who Stare at Sheep." The prequel to "Goats who Stare at Taser Boyz."

Can you imagine if the sheep on meth managed to Taser the scientist?

Maybe Taser is looking for a new market - sheephurdding.

This is a strange world we are living in, getting stranger all the time. I agree that they should be awake for it, with the adrenaline factor that by itself could send one into a cardiac arrest. And why does this lamb taste so great..

OMG. Did some idiot actually reference the Colbert Report as proof of police violence?

Here's a clue for you. The Colbert Report is on Comedy Central. If you're watching him thinking it's a news program, seek help immediately.

The clips on that show, as with most other comedy videos have been edited down to a few seconds for effect.

Get out of your Mom's basement and get a life.

Violence must be eradicated; Kill all the violent people you know!!

Does the ASPCA know this ? These idiots should be testing this on prisoners who are serving life sentences, not on defenseless animals. I know, let's arrest those Priests that have been raping and torturing children and use the Priests for this testing, not these animals.
Question: Are these sheep then slaughtered and added to our food supply? If so, has the FDA been made aware of it?

I can't believe Popular Science would put such a heartless
picture in their magazine. You people are sick real sick.

There is no way this really is an experiment on how Taser's effect heart rhythms. Its is just another example of how scientist for all their so called knowledge and humanitarian research is just a covering up the fact that they just want to do some REALLY AWESOME stuff. Is there video of this anywhere?

thats weird how a tazer can kill meth adictted sheep. i wonder how many volts were in the shock.

Wow! Have a great weekend. That goes for all the other times since I started receiving this newsletter.

I’m always amazed by the willingness of the “most companionate” ones among us who are so willing to torture human beings they don’t agree with. I wonder what their position is on the use of water boarding of terrorists. You know those people who actually kill, behead and torture even women and children. Both water boarding and tasers are applied to the very ones who are administering them so they can’t be considered torture but these people would truly torture people for what they do to animals to help save human lives.

This is the stupidest crap I have ever heard. don't tell me taxpayers are paying for this too.

this is cruel & sadistic to do this to another living creature. the scientist doing this study should have a go at doing meth then being tasered. this is totally cruel & mean & disgusting.

It's only cruel, mean, and disgusting if you're not the person getting beaten to death with a brick by a meth addict.

Every day every reader benefits from some species being killed, tortured, or manipulated to give your better trained docs, medical drugs, clothing, or food.

Folks in glass houses .....

Words don't count. Only behavior counts.

Everything you do or don't do costs lives. You have to evaluate consequences in context. There are no free lunches.

this just isn't right period. this sheep cannot defend itself they are basically torturing an innocent animal.
if these scientist tried doing this meth taser crap on a bear or a tiger it would tear their ass up

@ cricket52

how dare u wish for a human being to be tazed. we aren't talking about the dog or cat sitting on our couch we are talking about a stupid sheep that god put on this planet for our use (if you even belive in god.) Instead how about we taze the peta activists that act like they are on meth thinking that animals have the right to sue humans.
(btw i am a devout catholic so I'm pissed off, get the whole story about the preists before you tell things about them.)

@cricket52

also do you really think that the people who conducted this study really slaughtered these animals you are an idiot if so you goofy animal rights activiactist. "I fart in your general direction"

@ txwest06
Odds are if they were to attempt this on a bear or a tiger... they would strap it down in order to prevent it from tearing their asses up... Anyway, we can test it on humans or sheep so who wants to get in line?

greetings, my study was better on real meth and crack heads after we shock them with a taser they all had heart attacks.and most of them live to tell the horror story that no one believed them on this ,and the ones that died had there hearts removed and brains too and it showed us at the time before death they saw an X humm we are now looking into the x part?

Well, its good to know that the fox is funding this new chicken coop research. With their new Taser-Lite version that shoots 100feet, there may soon be no need to leave your chair at the donut shop.

Tasers have simply allow police to strengthen their "us-vs.-them-everyone's-a-criminal-first" philosophy. Tasers are "death-waiting-to-happen" when put in the hands of a cop who'd sooner shoot first and ask questions later.

Just look at the cowardly deployment of a Taser on the innocent man at the Vancouver airport: 6 fully armed (and portly) police with a Taser against 1 unarmed vacationer looking to see his mom. The police killed him with the Taser. Six of them took him down, Tasered him repeatedly, and then refused requests to provide him medical help. Taser Int'l helped to get the cops acquited.

What did cops use before Tasers? ...common sense?

Did you see those teeth? Does PETA know about this abuse?

umm wow its so amusing to see adualts argue over this its partly pop sci fault for not specifing that is a fack movie photo of a fake sheep monster secondly the taser test falls into all of the law requirements sheep was injected with meth coctail but was put under anastisia so it felt no pain it was just to monitor its hart for u animal activists u wont be complaining about crulitey if ur kid was killed by untested tasers
i would hate to be killed in a stupid maner like that ohh sorry we didnt know the voltage on the taser was to hig or the remix version we didnt know the catle fence curent was to high for him to tuch srry

This is a slippery slope. The Taser was invented to be a more human option for cops than beating people over the head with clubs or shooting them. But as usual no matter what is done to prove that we are not the sadistic nuts that the left accuses us of, they always find something else to condemn us for. Why is it that the "compationate" left's compation is always for the wrong people or animials over people, or terorists over americans, or a woman's right to get knocked up over the life of a child or a murderer over society/victim or....

Sorry, misspelled compassion, but at least I know who to give it to. Do you like the Guinea Pig? It's my daughters.

Id rather be tazed than shot. ^_^

well now we trying out the new telepathic ray gun.devices, which would cause artificial fevers or beam voices into people's heads. include laser dazzlers and a sound source loud enough to disturb the sense of balance. we will try this on gangs and terrorist organizations.

Oh, great. Once again, because of humans' stupid problems (this time drug addicts, no less), more innocent fellow animals must suffer. But what is most infuriating is the cavalier attitude of Jeremy Hsu, the writer of this article.
"some lucky sheep"? What the hell is he talking about? Perhaps HE would like to step in and volunteer for this study. No? I thought not. Most humans are way too cowardly to submit themselves to tests that they joke about when performed on others.
Jeremy, you remind me of those silly 1950's newsreels which suggested that chimpanzees in early aviation experiments might "feel proud of their contributions to Uncle Sam". What a load of hogwash. Get real, Hsu, and knock off the jokes about a terrible injustice. It's the least you can do.

IT was sarcasm. Get off your high horse before you break its back.

For what it might be worth, in Baja California the locals have discovered that using a taser on a stingray wound will somehow shut off the pain from the wound. As for the still taken from "Black Sheep", Google en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sheep_%282007_film%29

Tasing sheep on meth isn't normal, but on meth it is.

I have seen the video. Several men in white coats hold the sheep down as it screams..."Don't tase me braaahhh, don't tase me"

The thought Of using sheep like that is appalling....But if this forward's research into the drug prevention field, then so be it but there are better way's of testing that won't harm sheep.

1) The picture at the top is a fake. It was meant to be comedic.
2) The sheep were under anesthetics and felt no pain. The experiment was to monitor reactions of the heart.
3) Please read and know the subject before you post. I see so many people reacting to what they think rather than what they should know.
4) Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Violence never solves anything, that's the purpose of this experiment.
5) Screaming you're a devout catholic and defending any type of sexual abuse is just sick. I bet the alter boys that were molested was by a devout catholic. I read the stories, I saw the interviews, I did my research. I agree that we should taze the molesting priest.
6) Pop Sci is merely reporting on a subject about advances in science. If the writer of this article wants to put witty captions or sarcasm in it then it's his prerogative. Don't put him in front of the firing squad because of your extreme sensitivity.

@captain kona
hw bout we instead of shocking the balls of people who respect our country's constitution we test it on the socialists who dont care what the people who elected them think and see if we can shock some sense into them?

and shocking a sheep who cant feel anything and if they could wouldnt care because thats what meth does and shooting them in a non-sensitive area, is very different from from shocking an area that is easily damaged and very sensitive on a human...

and to everyone who says that cops shouldnt carry tazers:
what would u prefer they do? if someone is running at you with a knife or pointing a gun at you, without a tazer the only way to subdue them is with lethal force or very serious injury. but with a tazer, except for rare cases, there is no permanent or serious damage except when the tazer is misused. there definately are people who abuse there possesion of a tazer and i agree that they should be punished.

Although a 10 cent bullet is alot cheaper than the cost of imprisonment and legal fees....

No one who behaves in a reasonable manner, remains calm and rational, follows directions, does not scream obscenities, and does not physically threaten themselves or others or the nice officer, gets Tasered. Period. I have no sympathy whatsoever for anyone who gets a first-hand Taser demonstration. And if you have an "adverse reaction" because you were wired on meth at the time...you also get zero sympathy. In fact, I may send the officer a nice fruit basket.

1) I guess at some point the author cited the photo as being from the movie. Otherwise I would love to know what or how much some people read before commenting.

2) There was a comment about 5 hours after the article was posted that cited where the photo was from. I would love to know what or how much some people read before commenting.

3) Given a question that seems to have not gotten answered, why sheep? (I thought Dr. Houghotn would say but did not):
This was from an on-line science store, although I am sure there are many better sources but..

"Sheep have a four-chambered heart, just like humans. By studying the anatomy of a sheep's heart, you can learn about how your own heart pumps blood through your body and keeps you alive! Use this as a dissection guide complete enough for a high school lab, or just look at the labeled images to get an idea of what the heart looks like...... "

That's why sheep. As to the study itself. Right, wrong, or indifferent. I think the mental imagery from the description alone the only thing I could think about was Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Pink Floyd. How we got to tea-baggers, priests and conspiracies I missed that.

4) Yes sheep are food, and have been raised and killed for that for thousands of years. Even if you think the Old Testament is nothing more than fiction (I don't) you still gotta think they went through a lot of sheep in the name of God as well.

"Luke...LUKE!!! Tell your Uncle Owen if he gets a droid, make sure it speaks baaah baaah baaah Bocce...", from Star Wars, where Aunt Beru was hollering for Luke...."

Answer one question about the cruelty they are imposing on these helpless animals "Where do they buy LEGALIZED Methamphetamine to give these sheep in the name of research or do they have their own LEGALIZED Meth labs?"

Fried wool......it's what's for dinner ! Can't they test those out on prisoners instead of sheep ?

Very interesting...

Poor Sheep ... They are innocent ... ... They deserve to be treat better ....

A new meaning of "sacrificial lambs." One problem with Tasers, and other electrical shock devices, is that they can be used as instruments of torture, that police could theoretically use to get "confessions," etc. something that cannot be done through other means without leaving marks and other obvious evidence of abuse.

Oh, George... not the livestock!

Don't taaaaaaaze me bro.

just saw this on failblog people think its fake . . . . bloody morons

This is just awful! I'm no animal rights activist, but I'm so horrified that this story has single handedly turned me against TASER.

Not only is this blatant animal cruelty, it serves absolutely no purpose! There is no reason to expect that sheep would react the same way as humans to either meth or a TASER alone let alone the combination of the two. Cats, for example are completely unaffected by LSD! Even if it does affect sheep in a similar way there is no way that conclusions could ever rationably be drawn on such a study based on that alone.

Even disregarding that fundamental flaw which undermines any justification for the tests, the study itself is ultimately irrelevant due to its self serving nature. No one can accept it at face value anyways because it serves an agenda! For all we know, sheep were the 20th animal tested because they were the first to show the desired results!

Oh, and as someone else already mentioned, WHERE THE $%#^ IS TASER GETTING ALL THIS METH?!?! I doubt that "oh I was just planning to give it to sheep" is a valid courtroom defense to possession of illegal drugs.

@Jedigeek93 I think that's a little bit inconsiderate of you. Years ago I had major surgery and was prescribed oxycontin afterwards. I found myself addicted and unable to quit. After a while I switched to heroin because I was afraid and unable to function once my prescription ran out and couldn't afford oxycontin on the street.

I have an IQ in the 150s, a doctorate in Computer Science, and am doing research that is changing the lives of many people. I care very much about the well-being of others--a trait you don't seem to exhibit.

Plenty of drug addicts make great contributions to art and science. We're not all violent criminals, you just don't hear about people like me too often. To make the assumption that drug addicts aren't human beings and that our safety and health are unimportant is ignorant and rude. The world would be a lot worse off if it lost all of its drug addicts than if it lost the bigots who assume that a serious health condition like addiction makes someone worthless.

Good day to you.