Calf embalming at vet colleges is cruel and unnecessary
We are urging the Bombay Veterinary College and other veterinary training institutions to stop calf embalming which is commonly done in India for anatomy lessons.
Why? The reason is simple. It is wrong to cruelly kill. Plus there are superior teaching alternatives available.
Embalming is the process of temporarily preserving the body parts of animals by pumping chemicals into their blood vessels. It is needless to say that in the process, animals are first killed by having their throats slit, and undergo a lot pain and suffering. Their body parts are then preserved for further learning. Do medical students cut the throat of humans for learning? Oh wait, of course not, because that is considered murder. So why don’t we consider it murder when veterinary students are made to support the killing of animals for learning?
Better, non-cruel teaching alternatives are being used by most veterinary colleges in the US, and it is a disgrace that Indian institutions are still holding on to old, archaic, unethical practices. PETA’s veterinary doctor Anuradha Srivastava has suggested that Bombay Veterinary College and other Indian veterinary institutions use clay models, ethically sourced cadavers and multimedia programs because these methods are ethical, modern and humane.
