Kittens saved, please help ferrets

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Background | Source PCRM

Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia informed PCRM this week that it has replaced the use of kittens with nonanimal training methods to teach future pediatricians.

This change is the result of PCRM’s yearlong campaign and the support of our members. More than 26,000 e-mails were sent to Albert Einstein Medical Center’s administrators over the past three months encouraging the hospital to take this progressive step, and the medical center listened!

A certified letter from Albert Einstein Medical Center informed PCRM that the hospital has “discontinued the use of animals to teach endotracheal intubation.” The hospital now joins the 97 percent of pediatrics residency programs in the United States and Canada that view nonanimal methods as not only more humane but educationally superior.

Because of this progressive change at Albert Einstein Medical Center, PCRM is cancelling our demonstration scheduled for Aug. 15, and we will turn our attention elsewhere. If you were planning to attend, thank you for your dedication and support.

Unfortunately, while Albert Einstein has decided to make this necessary change, East Carolina University (ECU) continues to use ferrets in endotracheal intubation training. Please contact ECU Brody School of Medicine dean Paul R.G. Cunningham, M.D., F.A.C.S., and ask him to replace the use of ferrets with human-based medical simulation.

Petition Text

I am writing to ask that you immediately end the use of ferrets in the East Carolina University (ECU) pediatrics residency program. The use of live animals for this purpose is cruel and outdated. Ferrets used in this training have suffered tracheal bleeding and may also suffer bruising, scarring, and other permanent injury. Ninety-five percent of pediatrics residency programs in the United States and Canada use human-based simulation methods for this training. ECU is also the last program in North Carolina to use animals for this training. It is time for ECU to end this cruel and unnecessary practice.