Oklahoma State University vet student Sarah Gordon has made a great stride in stopping terminal surgeries at her school. In the past, students whose ethics prevented them from being able to participate in terminal surgeries, or surgeries performed on healthy animals who are then euthanized rather than allowed to recover, had been given an alternative option.
During Sarah's second year at OSU, the alternative program fell through. She petitioned the school to come up with other alternatives, soliciting support from the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights (AVAR), an organization that has since been incorporated into the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association (HSVMA). Before the start of her third year, OSU implemented a program that used procedure-based surgeries on cadavers as well as extra surgical and anesthesia rotations.
The ethical dilemma of terminal surgeries in vet school training has been highlighted recently by Madeleine Picken's announcement that she would not donate the $5 million previously slotted to go to the OSU vet program because of animal treatment she described as "barbaric". After OSU's announcement on April 21 that they will no longer euthanize healthy animals in vet labs, Pickens retracted her refusal and the donation will now proceed as planned. Also good news: the school will no longer work with Class B dealers, who buy animals from kill shelters and resell them for medical testing.
I am having my own personal dance party over this news. Congratulations to Sarah Gordon and to OSU for taking a strong ethical stand on this issue and forging a path toward humane treatment of animals in vet schools!
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