The University of Strasbourg will suspend some animal experiments carried out on hamsters after students refuse to take part in them.
The Faculty of Life Sciences at the University of Strasbourg will suspend some animal experiments for educational purposes after several master’s students refused to take part in practical work on hamsters.
As reported The world this Friday, December 9, seven students of the master 2 in ecophysiology, ecology and animal ethology refused in the first university semester to participate in a practical work (TP) aimed at hacking hamsters to insert a probe in order to measure biological parameters, before euthanize them a few weeks later to dissect them and remove the organs needed for analysis.
“This is the first time this has happened,” life sciences dean Jacky de Montigny agreed with AFP. “They felt they didn’t have the training to do it and especially that it went against their beliefs about animal welfare.”
“A Social Problem”
“Animal testing is becoming a social problem, we are discussing it and we will face the problem head-on for the next few years,” continued Jacky de Montigny. “We have to be much more vigilant than we were 15 or 20 years ago.” At first, the students’ challenge, which, according to the regulations, should earn them a grade of 0/20 due to their absence from the TP, could be subject to “neutralisation”.
“The professor proposes a note. But in the end it is a jury that definitively ratifies the notes”, according to the usual procedure, Jacky de Montigny points out. “There will be discussions. 0 is one possibility, but it’s not the only one, and by far. The neutralization principle can be applied in this context.”
Furthermore, the TP will not be renewed during the next academic year. “Trials of this type require authorisations. The authorization expires next year. Given the circumstances and the changes to the programmes, the authorization request will not be renewed”, assures the rector. “It’s a good time to say it’s best to stop, and think differently from now on,” he concludes.
