Colleges End Live Animal Labs For Med Students

After receiving encouragement from Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, both the University of Virginia and The Medical College of Wisconsin will no longer use live animals to teach medical students. Animal-rights activists applaud the move, as there are many cruelty-free alternatives to the harsh experiments, which have included using rats as subjects for microsurgery studies. Computer simulations, which are also more cost-effective for the schools, are just one of the humane education options available. There are only five medical schools left in the United States that continue to use live animals in labs, and PCRM has expressed hope that they will soon follow suit.