Victory! Indiana University Ends Cruel Use of Cats

Image | Aspire Communications

1. Ask Johns Hopkins University and the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences to End the Use of Live Animals in Medical Student Training

2. Ask the University of Mississippi Medical Center to End the Use of Pigs in its Physiology Lab

3. Urge the University of Tennessee College of Medicine to End Its Cruel Pig Lab

4. Help End Live Animal Labs at Johns Hopkins University

5. Ask the University of Washington to End the Use of Ferrets in its Pediatrics Residency Program

From PCRM

After PCRM requested a curriculum evaluation, the school moved to modern teaching methods that better equip trainees to care for newborns, according to a letter from the school’s residency program director.

Indiana University School of Medicine’s animal use came under scrutiny after PCRM urged the university to end the animal use. Nonanimal education methods are used by 94 percent of U.S. pediatrics programs surveyed by PCRM.

“Indiana University School of Medicine is to be congratulated on its carefully considered decision to move to nonanimal methods of pediatrics training,” says John Pippin, M.D., F.A.C.C., PCRM’s director of academic affairs.

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IU’s move toward nonanimal methods comes after similar announcements from medical institutions across the country following complaints and requests from PCRM. Since January, ten pediatrics residency programs—including Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, and the University of Arizona—have also confirmed the end of animal use for training.

This shift has been facilitated by innovations in medical simulation technology, increased availability of alternatives, a rising awareness of ethical concerns, and a growing acknowledgement that medical training must be human-focused.

But live animal use for pediatrics training continues at the University of Washington, where ferrets suffer tracheal bruising, bleeding, scarring, severe pain, and sometimes death.

To ask the University of Washington to stop using live animals for pediatrics training and see the list of other schools still using animals, visit PCRM.org/Pediatrics.

See More:

• Dissection | Testing
• Cruelty-Free

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Karen Lyons Kalmenson