———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Nick Jukes
Date: Fri, Mar 14, 2008 at 8:22 AM
Subject: Russia - New formal agreement to replace dissections

InterNICHE – International Network for Humane Education (Russian branch)
VITA – Animal Rights Center

www.interniche.org, www.vita.org.ru

Phone: 007 495 954-92-79

TODAY TOMSK AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE DEPARTMENT OF ZOOLOGY SIGNS AGREEMENT TO END THE DISSECTION OF ANIMALS

Press release, 17 March 2008

On 17 March 2008 the International Network for Humane Education (InterNICHE) and the Department of Ecology, Health & Safety and Hunting Management of the Faculty of Zoology at Tomsk Agricultural Institute sign a formal agreement to end the use of animals for dissection.

According to the agreement, InterNICHE and VITA will supply the department with computer hardware and zoology software. The project will save hundreds of shrews, voles, lizards, frogs, crabs and other animals every year, as well as over forty species of insect.

Tomsk Agriculture Institute has become the sixth Russian higher education institute to sign an agreement with InterNICHE to end such use of animals in teaching.

“The computer programs demonstrating professionally performed dissections will allow students to acquire all the necessary theoretical knowledge,” said InterNICHE Co-ordinator Nick Jukes, “And students can learn practical skills by dissecting ethically sourced animal cadavers, that is, animals who died of natural causes or were euthanised for medical reasons.”

“We want to modernise our teaching and for that reason we accepted the InterNICHE and VITA proposal to introduce new, humane teaching techniques in zoology,” said Dr. Elena Kleptsyna, head of the department. “Our students will gain the skills required using methods now accepted in most western higher education institutes, where the majority experiments on animals have been replaced by humane alternatives.”

“We hope that this project will encourage respect for the lives of others – one of the professional skills so important for these future specialists,” declared Elena Maroueva, InterNICHE National Contact for Russia and VITA Director. “There is no doubt that experiments on animals can have a crippling effect on students’ emotions and could lead to a heartless attitude towards people, animals and nature.”

The project was made possible thanks to a gift from the late Director of the Centre for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, T. N. Pavlova, and donations from supporters of VITA and other organisations.

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts InterNICHE International Network for Humane Education Russia animal testing animal experimentation animal research vivisection news in the news press release vita Tomsk Agricultural Institute dissection press release