A Quantitative Review of Cadaver and Terminal Animal Use in Veterinary Education
A new study, the first of its kind, has quantified the use of cadavers and animals in terminal teaching exercises across public veterinary schools in the United States and Canada. The research, published in the Journal of Veterinary Medical Education, provides an unprecedented look into the scope, sources, and justifications for these long-standing educational practices, revealing significant variation in how schools adhere to modern ethical guidelines.
The Scope of the Findings
Through public records requests, researchers obtained and analyzed 120 active Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocols from 26 public veterinary schools. The data reveals a widespread and substantial use of animals.
Widespread Use: 24 of the 26 schools reported using equines in terminal or cadaveric exercises, followed by cows (20 schools) and small ruminants (19 schools).
Sheer Numbers: Poultry were requested in the highest total numbers (8,558), largely due to their use in teaching euthanasia techniques. Other species requested in high numbers included rodents (1,441), equines (906), and dogs (865).
Diverse Sources: Animals were sourced from client donations, commercial vendors, internal university herds or colonies, and, in a few cases, pet stores. Donation programs were most common for equines (19 schools) and companion animals.
The Ethical Dilemma and AAVMC Guidelines
A core objective of the study was to evaluate how closely current practices align with the 2022 American Association of Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Veterinary Education. These guidelines advocate for the principles of the “4Rs”—Replacement, Reduction, Refinement, and Respect—and emphasize transparency and ethical sourcing.
The study identified a considerable gap between these recommendations and on-the-ground practices. The researchers analyzed the justifications provided by Principal Investigators (PIs) in their IACUC protocols and found:
The Primary Justification: In 87 of the 120 protocols (72.5%), PIs acknowledged that alternatives exist but argued they "do not provide an equal learning experience."
Need for Live Animals: 71 protocols justified the use of live animals for learning nonsurgical techniques (handling, restraint), while 65 protocols cited the need for live animals to teach surgical skills.
Lack of Consideration: Alarmingly, 18 protocols from 10 different schools provided no explicit consideration of alternatives whatsoever.
The AAVMC guidelines explicitly recommend against euthanizing animals solely for educational purposes and encourage the use of non-animal alternatives, ethically sourced cadavers (e.g., from willed body programs), and clinical cases where the animal benefits. The study notes that while many schools have developed client donation programs, the term "donation" can be vague, encompassing everything from animals euthanized for medical reasons to those culled for economic purposes.
Key Limitations and a Call for Transparency
The authors caution that their findings likely represent a significant undercount. A major limitation is that IACUC approval is not required for animals obtained already deceased. Therefore, the vast number of cadavers used in anatomy and pathology labs—a staple of veterinary education—are not captured in IACUC protocols and their sources remain largely undocumented and unquantified.
Furthermore, protocols often lacked specificity, grouping survival and terminal procedures together or listing total animal numbers without clarifying how many would be euthanized.
Conclusion and Implications for the Profession
This study serves as a critical baseline, injecting much-needed data and transparency into a previously opaque aspect of veterinary education. It reveals a stark lack of consistency in animal use practices and justifications across North American veterinary schools.
The findings challenge the profession to critically re-evaluate its teaching methods. With a wealth of research demonstrating the efficacy of simulators, models, and alternative teaching methods that produce equivalent or superior learning outcomes, the traditional reliance on terminal exercises is increasingly difficult to justify on pedagogical grounds alone.
The study concludes that a concerted effort is needed to align veterinary educational practices with the ethical principles championed by the AAVMC, ensuring that the next generation of veterinarians is trained with both excellence and compassion at the forefront.
Read full article: A Public Records Review of Cadaver and Terminal Animal Use in US and Canadian Veterinary Schools
