Animal rights crusade fails to save calf from dissection table

On Tuesday,after the intervention of People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) that had received complaints from students,the dissection class was suspended,but only temporarily. The authorities later went ahead with the dissection,citing the fact that the government permits it.

Several students had approached PETA complaining that “the procedure of bleeding a young animal to death after merely administering a sedative and local anesthesia is brutal and should be replaced by a more humane method”.

PETA India’s vivisection campaign coordinator Dr Anuradha Srivastava then wrote to the college dean,“During my education as a veterinary student,I was required to observe this procedure as part of a mandatory first-year anatomy course,and I found it to be a useless and traumatising experience. The animal’s jugular vein and carotid artery were cut in full view of me and my fellow students,and we were then forced to watch as the animal died slowly and painfully. Formalin solution was then introduced into the blood vessels to preserve the cadaver for later study. This activity is contrary to the ethics of the veterinary profession and harmful to both the animal and the students. We urge you to cancel it immediately.”

A student said,“The formalin preserves the body of the animals so that different parts can later be dismantled and studied. The heart of the calf,however,keeps beating for a long time till all the blood is drained out.”

Srivastava said the experience did not make her a better veterinarian. Rather,she said,research has shown that it involves the risk of trauma for students forced to participate in activities “they perceive to be ethically objectionable”.

PETA urged the college to cancel the planned embalming procedure or “at least suspend it pending further discussion”. The authorities did suspend the class,but went ahead on the ground that the dissections are being conducted according to the conditions laid out by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment’s Committee for the Purpose of Controls and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA).

Dr P L Dhande,professor of anatomy,said,“We use one calf every year for dissection and make sure that only disabled or terminally ill calves are brought. The dissection of a live calf is a basic and mandatory course for veterinary students. An animal’s body,veins and tissues can be clearly understood only with live dissection. However,we make sure that the animal is not in pain during the process.”