Media Releases

Students no Longer Required to Kill Dogs says Vet Dean

The University of Guelph Veterinary College has announced its intention to end its policy requiring students to kill healthy dogs as part of their studies.

The change comes after Lawyers for Animal Welfare (LAW) assisted a veterinary student assert her Ontario Human Rights Code right to be accommodated on the basis of creed when she refused to kill a dog after performing a routine spaying procedure.

The University had told the student that if she did not kill the dog after the procedure she would not be permitted to graduate – a requirement for becoming a licensed veterinarian in Ontario.

The student’s brave stand inspired LAW’s Student Conscientious Objector campaign to educate students about their right to refuse to harm animals during the course of their studies without threat of sanction.

During an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Dr. Elizabeth Stone, Dean of the University of the Guelph Veterinary College, said “What we are committed to now is to have enough supervisors present so that these trainees will be able to do the spay successfully and the animal will be healthy when it’s recovered.”

The CBC news story can be watched online at this link: http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/News/ID=1555198432