Journalism of Courage
Prominent veterinarians in the city on Wednesday opined that the Bombay Veterinary College (BVC) should do away with its old practice of bleeding a live calf to death for its dissection classes,and instead consider upgrading its system and show video demonstrations of operations.
Technology has progressed manifolds in the past 10 years and today several medical videos of dissections are available for students. These videos show the dissection process in detail and will acquaint the viewer with the animal anatomy perfectly, said Dr Deepa Katyal,a veterinarian from Chembur and a former student of the BVC.
Katyal,who studied veterinary science in 1997,remembered that she too had to attend the calf dissection classes in the first year of college. The class is certainly traumatising, she said. Katyal,who has also done further studies outside India,pointed out that many foreign colleges have done away with the practice for more humane sessions. Colleges today even use 3-dimensional structures to give a clear understanding of anatomy to students.
Every year,as a part of its first-year anatomy practical course,the BVC euthaises and embalms one live buffalo calf before its students. On Tuesday,as this class was in progress several students approached the People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA),to end the cruelty.
The students complained that the procedure of bleeding a young animal to death after merely administering a sedative,is brutal and should be replaced by humane methods.
Dr Anuradha Srivastava,the vivisection campaign coordinator of PETA and a veterinary doctor,said,The practical class is useless and traumatising. They are contrary to the ethics of the veterinary profession and harmful to both the animal and the students. On Wednesday,Srivastava said she would write to the department concerned requesting a review into the practical sessions.
BVC dean,Dr Abdul Samad,said,No 3-D video viewing will acquaint a student to the animal anatomy like an open dissection. We can use cadavers,but it is not easy to find fresh cadaver for the class every year. If any organisation takes up the responsibility of providing us fresh animal bodies every year,we will certainly forego euthanising. As of now,we make sure we use diseased and ill animals for this purpose.
