A notice from PCRM:

"Can you help us end the live animal lab at the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine (OHSU)? Twenty years ago, live animals were commonly used in physiology, pharmacology, and surgery classes at medical schools. A standard lab involved anesthetizing the animal, followed by injecting pharmaceuticals or practicing surgical techniques. After the class, the animal was killed.

Today, OHSU still offers this cruel and unnecessary exercise. The school uses pigs in its first-year physiology lab. The next lab is slated for February 2008.

Pigs are highly intelligent, social animals who have been shown to be more intelligent than dogs. Animal behavior experts agree, and scientific evidence suggests, that pigs are very smart and sensitive animals.

Call, e-mail, fax, or write a letter to Dean Mark A. Richardson, M.D., M.Sc.B., M.B.A., and politely ask him to end the school's live animal lab program. Being polite is the most effective way to help these animals.


Mark A. Richardson, M.D., M.Sc.B., M.B.A.
Dean
Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine
Office of the Dean, Mail code: L102
3181 SW Sam Jackson Park Rd.
Portland, OR 97239
Phone: 503-494-8220
Fax: 503-494-3400
richarma@ohsu.edu

Fortunately, more than 90 percent of schools have eliminated live animal labs from their curricula altogether. Innovations in medical simulation technology, availability of alternatives, increased awareness of ethical concerns, and a growing acknowledgement that medical training must be human-focused have all facilitated this shift. Only 10 out of 126 medical schools in the United States still use live animals in their curricula. "