Live-Dog Surgeries Discontinued At MU Vet School

  Posted on June 11, 2012  by Joy of Living  No comments

An article in today’s KC Star reported the discontinuance of live-dog surgeries and euthanasia.  At first I considered that good news, then I read on.  Yes, those practices will stop due to the “sensitivity’ of people to these practices on dogs.  In lieu of that, however, the surgeries and euthanizations will be done on pigs.

Does this make sense?  Not really, considering many other veterinary schools discontinued the practice of live animal surgery years ago.  A university spokesperson stated that students are not forced to operate on live animals, they have the option to use cadavers instead.  Cadavers, however, aren’t considered as “realistic.”

As it turns out, pigs are one of the smartest animals around, Animal Planet rated them #6 in a list of the 10 Smartest Animals.  They are as easy, if not easier to train than dogs or cats, and aren’t necessarily the dirty creatures they’ve been shown as for so many years.

So why make pigs the victim in this live animal practice?  The university spokesperson stated pigs are “cheaper” than dogs to obtain and people aren’t as sensitive about procedures being done on swine vs. dogs.

In reading the article this morning, I was extremely upset.  The article stated the university has been working on phasing out the process for the last three years……….how long can it possibly take?

This is the age of “there’s an app for that”, it would seem there would, or very easily could be an app to mirror the “realistic” nature of what they’re trying to accomplish with these surgeries.

What do you think about this?  Please feel free to leave your comments.