Do all veterinary schools kill practice animals?

October 29, 2008 2:23 PM

Do all veterinary schools sacrifice healthy animals for teaching?

I'm studying at a large university in Scandinavia. Right now I live near the vet school and every day I pass these healthy purebred dogs kept in a yard that I assumed were for behavioral experiments because well..in the US if we are going to do grisly experiments on animals we try not to keep them in a place where the humans get attached. I see students walking them around and playing with them too. But recently my roommate, a vet student, informed me that the students practice surgery on them and then they are euthanized.

I was pretty aghast, since medical students obviously don't (at least intentionally) kill people while practicing and they seem to do fine. While my former US university kills quite a lot of animals, I always assumed it was for things like research experiments (OK, some of my friends took a class where they raised chickens...and ate them, but most people feel a little differently about that). Do all vet schools do this? Are there schools that are moving away from this sort of thing?

posted by melissam to Pets & Animals (4 answers total)

It's common, though not universal, to use large animals in the training of people surgeons as well. For a surgeon, there are substantial advantages to having a live animal to practice on that can't be duplicated with a cadaver. Practicing in a 'low-stakes' environment with an animal specifically intended to be sacrificed at the conclusion of the procedure helps the surgeon to do better in an environment where human life or the value of a more beloved or economically valuable animal is at stake.

As for housing the animals in a yard, outside, with contact with people, I have to say that sounds relatively nice for the animals; during their lifetimes they sound fairly well cared for, and also that you seem to live in a country without a particularly aggressive animal rights movement. That an animal can be both a site of emotional attachment and a tool can be unsettling, but as a vet student I'm sure you have encountered or will encounter it in other contexts. Consider the relationships that farm families often have with 'pet' livestock, not even chickens but cows or pigs; these animals may be treated with a greater deal of emotional attachment and personal care than their working counterparts, but still often wind up in the pot.

I think ultimately you may be running up a fundamental characteristic of veterinary science- that it is built on a foundation of animal welfare, not animal rights. Under this value system, there are many practices that would be shockingly abusive on humans which are considered acceptable in animals. The ultimate ethical motivation is to give these research or training animals the best care possible and the least possible suffering, and to only use them when it is necessary, which is something quite different than the best care and the least suffering, or blanket not using them. As a practicing veterinarian, you can certainly aim for the latter; but in your training you can't escape that much of the scientific knowledge you are taking in has been essentially extracted from animals by force. You should, however, try the best you can to avoid participating in any practice you find morally objectionable, and do what you can to reduce the use of animals as much as possible. For example, if you could convincingly demonstrate that alternative means of surgical training are equivalent or superior, your school may find it a good idea to (and in the U.S. at least would be more or less obligated to) move towards this animal-free alternative.
posted by monocyte at 4:16 PM on October 29, 2008 [2 favorites]

The vet school here largely uses animals from the local animal shelter that would have been euthanized anyways.
posted by internet!Hannah at 4:44 PM on October 29, 2008

Western University in Pomona, CA has a progressive teaching philosophy:

"Reverence-for-Life Philosophy
You will master all the technical skills you need to become a skilled professional, and you will learn them in a manner that does not harm animals. For example, you will acquire skills, such as how to anesthetize and perform and surgeries through use of inanimate and dynamic models, computer simulations and apprenticeships. Mastery of skills is required before you work on live animals; we never perform unnecessary surgeries or procedures on healthy animals. You will have the chance to practice your skills on real animals with real medical issues at various points in the program. "

Other schools, like Tufts and Colorado, are working towards more ethically sound programs.

A lot of schools are still in the dark ages, but things are changing.
posted by bolognius maximus at 5:35 PM on October 29, 2008

Not a complete answer, but when my guinea pig died recently, donating his body for study at the local veterinary school was an option. In fact, the option I chose. So, clearly, there are some movements to more ethical practices.
posted by typewriter at 6:28 PM on October 29, 2008