THRISSUR: Starting from this academic year, a well structured Animal Birth Control (ABC) programme should be made a part of the curriculum for students at Veterinary Colleges, PETA officials said. Speaking to DC, PETA India’s Director of Veterinary Affairs Dr Manilal Valliyate said that in view of the threat posed by the increasing stray dog population, veterinary doctors were now given training by the government to implement ABC schemes across the state and country, and government funds were spent on it.
Mr Manilal said that PETA had been pushing the Veterinary Council of India (VCI) and all the veterinary colleges in the country to introduce a full-fledged ABC surgery programme in the syllabus. This would have a great impact on addressing the issue of stray dogs, he added. Mr Manilal was here on Thursday for a workshop for the faculty of the College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy, to assist them to implement ethical cadaver sourcing and preservation.
As per the recently mandated Veterinary Council of India Minimum Standards of Veterinary Education (Bachelor of Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry degree course) Regulations, 2016, the body donation programme of animals to put an end to the killing of animals for demonstration at veterinary colleges will be implemented from this year onwards. But, the regulation had not made it mandatory to implement ABC programmes which could be helpful to both the students and the public, he noted.
“There are two-pronged benefits if the scheme is implemented. One is that the students will get hands-on training in ABC and if such surgeries are conducted in large numbers with the involvement of students as a part of the programme in colleges, it could be very effective in addressing the stray dog menace,” he added. Professor M.S. Amarendhra Kumar from Tufts University’s Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in the US conducted interactive sessions with the faculty at the workshop.
