Following the list of information, there is a section on literature that is either referred to or is relevant to the subject of veterinary medical schools and their policies or programs relative to humane education.
If you are aware of other information you believe to be important to include here – current information on a particular school’s program regarding humane education methods or potential issues in this regard – please send the information to HEVM. It will be researched, and if relevant and verified, will be included here.
New addition:
Experiential learning in animal welfare for veterinary students
Atlantic Veterinary College
Proudfoot, Kathryn L.; Stephanie J. Landry; Adam Ogilvie; Lara Cusack and Dominique Griffon 2026-04-01 Experiential learning in animal welfare for veterinary students Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 264(4):508
…the center provides funding to AVC faculty for service projects that involve student training. One such program is the AVC Wildlife Service, which cares for native wildlife on Prince Edward Island through veterinary care and rehabilitation. This project has provided important clinical experiences for students, including navigating decisions about triage, diagnostics, treatment, and euthanasia for wildlife patients.
Another long-standing service project supported by the center is the AVC Veterinary Teaching Hospital’s clinical care of homeless animals. This project, in collaboration with the Prince Edward Island Humane Society, supports medical and surgical care to homeless companion animals surrendered to the humane society, found by Good Samaritans, or seized due to animal welfare concerns. Veterinary students are heavily involved in the assessment, treatment, and follow-up of these homeless animals.
Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine simulation-based veterinary learning
Describes the simulation-based approach being used at Cornell, with an indication that more will be developed.
LeRoy, Crystal; Tiffany Pulliam and Julie A Hunt 2026-03-01 Teaching surgery, saving lives, and serving Appalachia at Lincoln Memorial University Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 264(3):371
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Lincoln Memorial University College of Veterinary Medicine (LMU-CVM) students learn to perform surgery on models, then shelter patients requiring spay or neuter surgeries. The college partners with a network of animal shelters across Kentucky, Tennessee, and Virginia that lack the resources to provide essential spay and neuter services for their animals. Through the college’s junior surgery program, these dogs and cats receive comprehensive veterinary care, including vaccinations, heartworm and tick-borne disease testing, and all necessary diagnostics. This valuable service not only improves the health and well-being of the animals but also increases their chances of adoption and placement into rescue programs, saving animal lives across the region.
School of Veterinary Medicine, Murdoch University, Perth, Australia
In 1999, Andrew Knight published a news item that, On 11 November 1998, Western Australia’s Murdoch University took the groundbreaking step of formally allowing conscientious objection by students to animal experimentation or other areas of their coursework.
(Knight, Andrew 1999-11-01 Alternatives to Harmful Animal Use in Tertiary Education Alternatives to Laboratory Animals 27(6):967-974)
Although it has been claimed by the University that there is a University-wide policy for conscientious objection, as of 2023-12-14, that content has been removed from public access.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, National Major University of San Marcos
In 2009, the Laboratory of Animal Anatomy and Wild Fauna of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, National Major University of San Marcos, Peru, implemented the use of ethically sourced animal cadavers. This was announced in 2011.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University
Although they have not had terminal surgical training for some time, in 2010, they instituted a policy of obtaining cadavers using a body donation program instead of non-ethical sources. A progress report of the successful, preliminary results was announced in 2011.
School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow
They have implemented various alternative, humane methods of teaching in various disciplines. A summary of some of this can be seen in Dale et al 2003.
School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Copenhagen
Although they have developed a surgical skills lab, as of 2012, they continue to kill animals in their surgical teaching program, as reported by Langebæk et al 2012
St Petersburg State Veterinary Academy
The Department of Pharmacology had used many hundreds of animals each year. A policy change to use only humane alternatives was announced in 2011. Further information is available through an information sheet by InterNICHE.
Texas Tech University School of Veterinary Medicine
Gibbons, Pippa; Clint Roof; Elpida Artemiou; Michael Cruz Penn and Guy Loneragan 2025-11-01 Gatekeeping the transition from the preclinical curriculum to the clinical year Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 263(11):1459
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Article is stated to be open access.
Includes information about skills training laboratory using simulations.
The University of Adelaide School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
They have a policy of at least considering a student’s objection to harmful use of animals in her or his education. This was reported in an article by Whittaker and Anderson, 2013.
The University of Sydney Faculty of Veterinary Science
They may have a policy of at least considering a student’s objection to harmful use of animals in her or his education.
Their surgical instruction program as of 2012, was reported by Gopinath et al 2012.
New program information was announced in October of 2025: From classroom to clinic: cultivating surgical and anesthetic confidence in future veterinarians
Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine
From their site on alternatives (not accessible by public): Some of the essential factors to consider are the mindset of the educator and institutional policies that govern animal use in teaching. Thus we must not only demonstrate that techniques are taught effectively and at reasonable cost, but also that in a profession where an appreciation for animal welfare should be foremost, the impact on animals is a positive one.
University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine
They have a Clinical Skills and Simulation program.
Baker, Tessa; Alexandre Ellis, Taylor Charlebois and Renate Weller 2026-03-01 The University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine’s Community Care Clinic: empowering student vets, supporting the community Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 264(3):372
The University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM) is advancing its commitment to experiential learning and community impact through the establishment of the UCVM Community Care Clinic. … Under faculty supervision, students lead all client communications, design diagnostic and treatment plans, and perform procedures ranging from spay/neuter surgeries to any procedure commonly performed in a primary care practice. The clinic was designed so that student experiences align with 8 of the 9 Council on Education Core Competencies, in addition to focusing on competencies outlined in the American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges’ Spectrum of Care Education Model.
University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine
Innovation in the curriculum hones clinical skills: Brief description of their programs that do not appear to be dependent on harmful use of non-human animals.
University of Guelph Ontario Veterinary College
From reading their Surgical Exercises, VETM*4540, Fall/Winter 2014-2015 course outline, it appears that no terminal or harmful use of animals is integral to at least their surgical and anesthesia training curriculum.
Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine
They were one of the first veterinary medical schools to develop and institute curricula in which no animals are killed. A spokesperson verified this in 2017 (personal communication).
One of their instructional programs is Veterinary Assessment Laparoscopic Skills for advanced training.
The following includes literature or other information cited above or which is relevant to the issue of humane education at veterinary medical schools in general. The titles are linked either to a publicly available copy of the document or to a digital object identifier. If there are illustrations which may be publicly viewable, these are also linked, but there is no guarantee that they would be viewable across all platforms.
Blom, H.; Wolschrijn, C.; den Harton, I. and Wittevrongel, C. 2011-01-01 New replacement alternatives used for training students in veterinary medicine in the Netherlands ALTEX 28(Special Issue):215 (Abstract 434)
The Utrecht University and ds RAT [Dutch Society for Replacement of Animal Testing] agreed to join forces to introduce a body donation program aiming at a full replacement of laboratory animals by pets euthanized for health related causes. After roughly half a year the initiative already can be called a success.
Dale, Vicki H.M.; Johnston, Pamela E.J. and Sullivan, Martin 2003 Learning and teaching innovations in the veterinary undergraduate curriculum at Glasgow Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 30(3):221-225
Gopinath, Deepa; McGreevy, Paul D.; Zuber, Richard M.; Klupiec, Corinna; Baguley, John and Barrs, Vanessa R. 2012 Developments in undergraduate teaching of small-animal soft-tissue surgical skills at the University of Sydney Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 39(1):21-29
OHE [ovariohysterectomy] is the ideal procedure to teach basic surgical skills such as instrument and suture handling, hemostasis, and gentle tissue handling. It is a prophylactic procedure generally performed on all shelter animals before re-homing. Therefore, theoretically at least, large numbers of animals should be available as learning opportunities to allow students to perform this procedure repeatedly at spay/neuter clinics.
In the last decade, veterinary teaching institutions world-wide have increasingly recognized that the ability to perform any surgical procedure directly reflects the student’s ability to perform a collection of individual skills combined with their possession of sound scientific knowledge.
Looking to the future, we aim to further incorporate surgical models and simulators, such as DASIE and the newly developed OSM [ovariohysterectomy simulator model], as significant tools for the teaching of basic surgical skills. The earlier implementation of these may be desirable to achieve greater vertical integration, concurrent with the teaching of veterinary anatomy and physiology. A clinical skills laboratory is being established to provide fourth-year students with opportunities to use surgical models and simulators as needed.
You may be able to obtain a copy of the paper from: ResearchGate
Langebæk, Rikke; Eika, Berit; Jensen, Asger Lundorff; Tanggaard, Lene; Toft, Nils and Berendt, Mette 2012 Emotions in veterinary surgical students: A qualitative study Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 39(4):312-321
The Danish veterinary curriculum is divided into a three-year bachelor and a two-and-a-half-year master’s program. Basic Surgical Skills is an eight-day course offered in the fourth year of the curriculum (first year of the master’s). … and (4) four days of practicing surgery on live research pigs. The research pigs are humanely euthanized at the end of a day’s surgical practice. Four students work with one pig, performing a range of surgical procedures (gastrotomy, orchiectomy, cystotomy, enterotomy, intestinal resection, and tracheostomy) in order to practice basic skills in different contexts.
You may be able to obtain a copy of the paper from: ResearchGate
Novosaduk, T.; Jukes, N. and Maroueva, E. 2011-01-01 Curricular transformation at St Petersburg State Veterinary Academy ALTEX 28(Special Issue):216 (Abstract 492)
Whittaker, Alexandra and Anderson, Gail I. 2013 A policy at the University of Adelaide for student objections to the use of animals in teaching Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 40(1):52-57
We believe that provision of a conscientious objection policy should be universal in life sciences teaching where animals are involved. …aside from legislative or ethical requirements imposed by a country’s regulatory framework on the institution, students are often the key advocates for using alternative teaching practices that do not make use of animals. This has prompted many institutions with veterinary and other life sciences teaching programs to develop student-conscientious objection policies to the use of animals in teaching. In this article, we discuss the procedures implemented to make provision for student-conscientious objectors at a new Australian Veterinary School, at the University of Adelaide. We also describe the processes to provide information to students and faculty on this issue and to facilitate information gathering on alternatives.
You may be able to obtain a copy of the paper from: ResearchGate
Updated 2026-03-15