Humane innovations in veterinary anatomy education in India

Animal usage plays a central role in Veterinary Sciencewhere millions of animals are used to train students. TeachingVeterinary Anatomy involves sacrificing live animals andembalming them for dissection. It is a highly controversialissue unique to modern science though it lead to many scientificbreakthroughs. A major ethical controversy in this regard is thatit mostly involves pain, suffering and discomfort. Compassionand respect for animals have to be an integral part of veterinaryeducation. Animal welfare encompasses both the physical andpsychological states of the animal. Humane Education was along felt valued need, and teaching objectives need to be metusing non-animal alternatives. This study proposes to phase outsacrifice of animals for teaching, set up an ethically sourcedcadaver-donation programme, develop humane embalmingtechniques, prepare humane non-animal alternatives anddigitalize laboratories to improve teaching-learning skills.Willed-Body Programme as an alternative to healthy animalsacrifice with dissections on ethically sourced donated cadaverswas established. Alternate modes for dissection and humaneexperimental embalming techniques were conducted onethically sourced cadavers using different embalming fluids.Cadaver storage in hazardous formalin was minimized byusing freezers. Innovative teakwood non-animal educationalmodels and video learning resources were prepared. Digitalizedgross anatomy & histology laboratories were established usingHDMI technology. An anatomy youtube channel was launched.A national workshop as an outreach programme was organizedand feedback was obtained. Our studies showed that learningoutcomes generated through humane alternatives were aseffective as those achieved through traditional methods.