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Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine and NEAVS Announce End to Terminal Surgical Lab Elective at Veterinary School 

NEAVS' veterinary education program.

Grafton, MA - The Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine (TUSVM), Grafton, MA, yesterday (Feb. 8, 2000) announced plans that will end terminal dog lab as an elective for third-year veterinary students in the coming academic year. The announcement came after a focused year-long collaborative effort with the New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS), one of the country's oldest animal advocacy organizations.

Tufts becomes the first of the nation's 27 veterinary schools to announce plans to eliminate all terminal labs (wherein healthy animals are used for surgical training and then euthanized at the end of the class) on all species.

"This step is the culmination of a series of efforts since 1989 to provide top quality veterinary surgical training while at the same time promoting the humane treatment of animals," said Gary Patronek, head of Tufts' Center for Animals and Public Policy.

"NEAVS has always believed in education as the way to create a compassionate ethic to animals," said NEAVS President Theodora Capaldo, EdD. "By working collaboratively, by keeping the dialogue open, and by providing substantive research and alternatives, NEAVS and Tufts have created an ethical surgery curriculum that will result in a better world for veterinary students and the animals in their care.

Patronek added, "By increasing surgical opportunities at area shelters and our own spay/neuter clinic, we are able to provide students with a challenging surgical experience that builds confidence and provides an excellent way of learning the fundamentals of good surgical technique. After a period of evaluation, Tufts has found no distinguishable difference in the skill-level between students who have or have not taken the elective surgical lab. This has been supported through post-graduate employer feedback," he said.

"NEAVS used a reasonable, educationally grounded approach to back up its ethical argument against killing animals in veterinary teaching and training," said Capaldo. "Animal advocates and veterinary students seeking a superior and ethically sound surgical training experience should all be gratified by Tufts' decision, and by NEAVS' commitment to achieving positive change."

As part of its work with Tufts, NEAVS provided books and alternatives to the use of animals for educational purposes. NEAVS also pioneered, and now coordinates, a Veterinary Education Program so that Tufts students who requested to participate would receive a meticulously crafted and carefully supervised surgical experience. Students in the week-long program spay/neuter and perform necessary surgeries such as bone repairs on abandoned dogs and abandoned or feral cats.

NEAVS and Tufts are at the forefront of responding to the ethical concerns of students and the public nationwide. The change underway at Tufts is part of a growing call for reform sweeping the country, Capaldo noted. She added, "We understand the need to prepare students to be outstanding veterinarians and we at NEAVS salute Tufts' leadership on the important ethics issue and are hopeful that other schools will follow suit. The commitment and cooperation shown by NEAVS and Tufts in moving surgical training forward is setting a new standard for ethical education everywhere."