Directive Imperfect But A Good Start
While the directive may be imperfect and presents loopholes for non-compliance, the action of the Indian body overseeing the allocation of funds and grants to universities is a tactical victory in the promotion of animal rights.
India’s University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to end the use of animals in biology classes, replacing them with computer models and simulation. This comes after a lengthy battle for public opinion led by animal welfare organizations such as the People on the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) which even involved the use of Bollywood celebrities. Released earlier this month, the body also recommended the creation of computer simulations which are fitting to the “Indian context”. The UGC will be funding the training of teachers who will use the novel technologies.
Expectedly, this has ruffled the feathers of traditionalists in the academia who feel that the directive will lower the quality of teaching in the areas of biology and zoology. Says Vartika Mathur of Sri Venkateswara College in the University of Delhi, “…there is no way one would fully deserve a degree in zoology without ever touching an animal.” Anjali Goswami, a paleobiologist at the University College London concurs saying that hands-on experience is necessary to give students “…an innate feeling” on the response of tissues.
These traditional practitioners of science conveniently sweep aside the reality that more and more educational institutions abroad such as the United Kingdom and United States have replaced animal dissection with computer simulation to conduct laboratory exercises.
Neither do they accept the fact that dissection is a form of cruelty to animals. However they say that ethical standards are observed in the killing of animals, this does not, in any way, expiate the reality that they are toying with and terminating life for the sake of teaching their students.
Indeed, even the decree is imperfect as it does not state when it all dissections are banned, who will fund the development of computer simulations that are context-specific, or what the penalties for disobedience are. Moreover, monitoring for compliance involves universities policing each other which could lead to collusion.
However, highly flawed it may be, it is a welcome development in a world which looks askance as animals are tortured or killed as it opens up avenues for even greater modification of human behavior towards animals.