PETA urges college to stop live calf embalming

MUMBAI - Animal rights organization PETA urged the Bombay Veterinary College (BVC) in Parel to stop the proposed killing and embalming of a calf scheduled for Tuesday as part of its course syllabus.

In an angry letter to the BVC Dean, Abdul Samad, PETA India’s Vivisection Campaign Coordinator Anuradha Srivastava said the college could use modern alternative methods or existing preserved specimens instead of going ahead with the live calf embalming procedure.

“In this (live) procedure, the calf’s jugular vein and carotid artery are cut in full view of the students even as the animal dies slowly and painfully,” she pointed out.

Then, a Formalin solution is introduced into the blood vessels to preserve the cadaver for later study, Srivastava said, recalling her own experiences as a veterinary student.

“This traumatizing experience did not make me a better veterinarian, and did not contribute to my understanding of anatomy nor did it equip me to better care for animal patients,” she said.

Srivastava said that killing and embalming of animals is cruel and unnecessary and such a live procedure is not carried out in any accredited veterinary college in western countries. “It should not be carried out in India also,” she demanded.

She said that besides her own experience, research has found that students forced to participate in or observe such activities may suffer from psychological trauma, which in turn hamper’s their ability to learn the intended course.

PETA has sent copies of its representation to the vice-chancellor of the Maharashtra Animal & Fishery Sciences University.