Zhytomyr Ivan Franko National University
Department of Ecology, Nature Management and Human Biology
Dr Alexander Harbar, head of the Department of Ecology, Nature Management and Human Biology at Zhytomyr Ivan Franko National University, was looking for interactive teaching tools. He found our trilingual website www.ukraine-projekt.de and wanted to switch as soon as possible. His university is technically very poorly equipped, and his department only has old Soviet films and charts as humane teaching materials. Due to a lack of options, the usual animal experiments were part of the currciculum.
Equipped with a laptop, projector, and CDs, Dr Harbar not only wanted to end the animal use, but above all to provide his students with much better, more modern teaching. But things didn't happen that quickly. Some of his colleagues argued that animal use was essential; that animal physiology couldn't be taught without it. Dimitrij Leporskij, our Ukrainian project partner, traveled to Zhytomyr to persuade them. It was difficult, but at the end of a long day, everyone agreed, and the agreement was signed a few days later. As of 1st September 2018, all animal use will cease.
From left: Irina Onischuk, Dimitrij Leporskij, Alexander Harbar, Tatyana Mostipaka.
Every year, 645 frogs, around 90 rats, pigeons, snakes, and lizards, as well as 60 invertebrates such as mussels and earthworms, no longer have to suffer painful deaths. The frogs were decapitated with scissors to study their muscles, nerves, and heart organ functions; the other animals were killed and dissected to examine their anatomy.
In addition to a laptop and a projector, we provided the department with a complete zoology and physiology set with 25 CD's/DVD's. This department is our first collaboration in Zhytomyr. We hope that the positive experiences with humane education will spread, as they have in many other cities in Ukraine.
Control visit
The control visit took place on 17 April 2019. Dr Alexander Haber confirmed that the donated hardware and software had significantly improved the quality of the curriculum and that animals were no longer used. Even the skeptics were convinced that modern teaching methods offer many advantages over antiquated animal use.
The donated materials (laptop, projector and software) in use.