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Bolivian military instructor ‘to be penalized’ after killing dog in class

In this FILE photo, Bolivia's Defence Minister Ruben Saavedra offers a press conference in La Paz on April 2, 2013. Saavedra said Tuesday a military college instructor would be penalized for violating a ban on using animals for military instruction. Getty Images

WARNING: Some readers may find the details in this story disturbing. 

LA PAZ, Bolivia — Animal rights activists are demanding a Bolivian military college fire an instructor who butchered a live dog before his students and then smeared its blood on their faces.

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Susana del Carpio of the group Animales SOS says students at La Paz’s School of Military Engineering reported the instructor gutted the dog Saturday during a class for new cadets. The slaying of the 2-year-old mixed-breed dog has sparked an outcry in Bolivian media and on social networks.

Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra has said the instructor would be penalized for violating a ban on using animals for military instruction. Del Carpio said Tuesday the instructor was suspended for four days, a punishment she decried as a “joke.”

Activists say animals have been abused in advanced military courses to desensitize soldiers.

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