MSU to change vet surgery practices

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MSU no longer will use live animals to teach veterinary students surgical techniques, a spokesperson for the College of Veterinary Medicine said Thursday.

Linda Chadderdon, spokeswoman for the college, said the university will switch from live animals to alternative methods of animal surgery education, such as animal cadavers, beginning in the fall. An official announcement is expected Friday.

Currently, MSU purchases animals, mostly dogs, that are bred for scientific purposes. The animals are put under anesthesia during the process, called terminal surgery, then are euthanized.

Chadderdon said the college slowly has been parting from this method for a number of years while it searched for alternative ways to teach surgery to veterinary students.

“The number of live animals that we’ve used for teaching surgery has been steadily decreasing for a number of years,” Chadderdon said. “Our program has been evolving in this direction for a long time.”

Bryden Stanley, an assistant professor of small animal clinical practices, said the college spent the past several years testing alternative methods of teaching students animal surgery techniques. Starting in the fall, the college will use animal cadavers and models to teach students.

Stanley, who helps organize the courses that teach terminal surgery, said the alternative teaching methods will be as effective, if not more, than surgery on live animals.

“It will be skill-based, and they will have practiced so many times, when they do come to the live animal, they will be better prepared,” Stanley said.

In November, a student organization hosted a lecture to discuss the university’s past practice of purchasing live animals from what is known as Class B animal dealers. Students Promoting Animal Rights, or SPAR, chided this practice, but acknowledged the university was improving, considering it began purchasing from Class A animal dealers more than three years ago.

Class A animal dealers sell animal subjects specifically bred for scientific purposes. A Class B animal dealer sells animal subjects acquired from shelters and pounds, among others.

“We’re ecstatic that they made the decision,” SPAR President Mitch Goldsmith said.

“We think that it’s not only a victory for the animals involved, but it means that the vets are going to be more up-to-date in effective training and surgical procedures.”

Animal science freshman Lauren Follmer said she does not think switching from live subjects to cadavers and models will hinder the learning process, although she said it depends on what surgical techniques are being taught.

“It depends on what they’re trying to learn,” Follmer said. “There are some things that it’s better if it’s live, but for some of the more basic things, I guess it’d be perfectly fine (otherwise).”

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