Nemishaevskiy College of Agricultural Engineering
Branch of the National University of Life and Environmental Sciences
Department of Veterinary Medicine, Kiev region, Borodyanskiy district, Nemishaevo
Students had to catch dogs and cats from the street for anatomical and surgical practices. Sometimes animals were also taken from animal shelters. Experiments were also carried out on cows, calves, frogs and rabbits. This has now come to an end at the Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Kyiv National University of Life and Environmental Sciences. In January 2009, we provided the University with a range of different models and computer simulations as well as a projector.
Following animals were used per year so: anatomy course (6 dogs, 6 cats, 6 calves), pathophysiology course (8 frogs, 6 rabbits, 2 cows, 2 sheep) and surgery course (6 dogs, 10-15 cows). According to the agreement, this will be discontinued from 1st Septemebr 2009.
Dimitrij Leporskij, biologist and our project coordinator in Ukraine with lecturer Oksana Vyschnjak.
The agreement with the her was established following television reports. She had taken up a position at the university without realising that animal experiments were part of the curriculum and asked us for help.
Dr Grennadiy Bondarenko, Department of Veterinary Medicine of the Kyiv National University of Life and Environmental Sciences and Dr Corina Gericke signing the agreement.
Dr Grennadiy Bondarenko and Oksana Vyschnjak with the donated anmal-free materials, including a so-called 'Koken Rat', several injection and surgical training models, a model of a dog brain, software and a multi-media projector.
Control visit
The inspection visit by Dr Corina Gericke and Dimitrij Leproskij in September 2009 confirmed that everything is running smoothly at the Department of Veterinary Medicine. The donated animal-free teaching methods are in use.
Students now 'dissect' dogs and cats on the computer instead of catching them off the street. Clinical examinations are learnt using patient animals in the clinic. The students also assist in clinically necessary operations and thus learn surgical skills.