Success in pushing back animal experiments in Bosnia and Herzegovina
No more animals will be used in education at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Sarajevo. Thanks to the Association for Animal Rights and the Environment of Bosnia and Herzegovina (EVA), students from now on will practice their skills on modern alternatives instead of real animals. Another step forward in the transition to a world without vivisection and animal experiments.
Representatives of EVA and the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Sarajevo with the model dog, Jerry.
Last week the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Sarajevo signed an agreement to ban all usage of real animals in education with the animal rights organization EVA, crowning a successful conference on ‘Humane Innovations in Education’. Multiple alternatives to the use of animals were demonstrated and donated to the faculty, including synthetic frogs for dissection, a model dog, virtual anatomic models and a 3-D printer that can produce organs and skin.
“We are really happy that, together with the International Network for Humane Education InterNICHE, Doctors Against Animal Experiments and PETA Germany, we managed to provide all the equipment needed to end the harmful use of real animals at this faculty for good,” says Maida Sabeta of EVA. “We hope other faculties, such as Biological Sciences, Medicine and Pharmacy, will soon follow.”
Towards a world without animal experiments
Protest against animal testing in 2019 in Rotterdam.
Using reusable models instead of live animals does not only prevent a lot of suffering and cruelty, it also turns out to have educational advantages, offering far more opportunities for practicing newly acquired knowledge and skills. Universities worldwide have therefore been working on the development of new techniques. However, large numbers of laboratory animals are still being used in education, scientific research and medicine across the globe.
The Dutch Party for the Animals and sister parties worldwide have been pressing policy makers for years to phase out all animal experiments, whether it is in education, medical research (such as currently for a vaccine against COVID-19) or for testing agricultural chemicals or cosmetics. "Why should we keep a cruel and outdated research system in place if there are animal-friendly, less cumbersome alternatives?", thus member of parliament for the Dutch Party for the Animals Frank Wassenberg. “We want to invest in innovative animal-free research instead. It’s just a matter of shifting the budget.”