UPDATE: University of Guelph says policy change possible

Pressure has been brought to bear on the University of Guelph Veternairy College to change its policy of euthanizing healthy animals after foreign students who need to qualify in Canada have "practiced" spaying or neutering.  Only one supervisor oversees 10 students, and current policy dictates that the otherwise healthy dogs (raised in situ for this purpose alone) were then euthanized.

Bravo to veternary student Dr. Anya Yushchenko  (not sure of spelling) who on being told she had to kill the little beagle she had just spayed, refused - and on being pressured and told she may not qualify for a Canadian practice - fought back.  Contacting Lawyers for Animal Welfare, the administration was persuaded to make an exception in the case of the little dog, now named Rainbow.  Paul Ward saw the online posting and adopted her where he points out he would NEVER have known she was raised in a lab as she was sweet, affectionate and social.

CBC covers the story here.

"What we're committed to now is to having enough supervisors present so that these trainees will be able to do the spays successfully and the animal will be healthy when it`s recovered" states Dr. Elizabeth Stone, Dean of the College.  If a successful outcome to what is arguably a common practice (spaying/neutering) is not necessarily possible, then the College obviously must revisit its teaching methods!  One supervisor per 10 students, from a laymen's perspective, seems woefully inadequate - which opinion is borne out if the outcome of these attempts mean the animal must be killed.

Having graduated more than 160 foreign vets to date, that means the same number of animals has been killed.  This seems morally reprehensible; I know that as an animal lover with my own menageries, I would far rather bring my animals to a vet like Dr. Anya than one who has no compunction about euthanizing a healthy animal - which they have just used ONLY as a training "tool".

Kudos to the Animal Alliance of Canada for bringing this practice to the attention of the public and were happy to announce in their latest blog that an outpouring of support for these little beageles has resulted in more than enough adoptive homes for the 10 beagles currently being offered for adoption.

It is an unfortunate reality that past practices are often hidebound and subject to retrenchment by the individuals who have lived their realities.  The sometimes rarified world of acadamia is perhaps one of the most difficult to change.  It is commendable on the part of the University of Guelph and Dean Stone that they are willing to reassess old practices.