Update; my attempt to influence my school on alternatives to ani

[Guest guest]

I asked Armaiti May, DVM, if she had any helpful information regarding the

question about alternatives to dissection, and she responded with the below.

 

Jack Norris

Vegan Outreach

http://www.veganoutreach.org/

 

 

 

In response to the post below, I would say that vet students do need to learn

anatomy, etc. but so-called ethical-source cadavers may be utilized just as

effectively as purposely bred animals for dissection. When I was at UC Davis

School of Vet Med, I was president of our Student Animal Welfare Committee which

was geared towards having humane alternatives to terminal surgeries in the

surgery curriculum. We had a willed-body donation program in which people

donated the remains of pets who had died of natural causes or were humanely

euthanized for medical reasons. These cadavers were kept in a freezer and we

were able to have a surgery " wetlab " in which practice surgeries and later

necropsies (autopsies) were performed on these cadavers. Western University of

Health Sciences, the newest vet school in the U.S., has a reverence for life

philosophy and also utilizes a willed-body donation program to educate their

students about anatomy, etc. There are various studies which show that students

who learn using humane alternatives are just as equipped, if not more so, to

perform competently in comparison to their colleagues who underwent the

traditional training involving harmful or terminal use of animals.

www.humanelearning.info and www.learningwithoutkilling.info are good resources

for students facing these challenges.

 

Armaiti

 

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Armaiti May, D.V.M.

Dr. May's Veterinary House Calls

Serving dogs and cats in West LA

www.drmayvethousecalls.com