Friday April 18, 2008, 5:44 pm
Edited Action from Australian Association for Humane Research.(some wording changed )

Pound dogs used for veterinary practice at Queensland University.

A number of Australian councils have been identified that provide dogs to Queensland University for research purposes.

Brisbane Council has confirmed that some animals are transferred to “veterinary schools utilizing dogs for teaching purposes.”

Caboolture Shire Council stated “Council has a long standing arrangement with local veterinary clinics and the Queensland University for the humane euthanasia of unwanted animals.”

Logan City Council, despite receiving petitions and reviewing the situation after much correspondence and a meeting with AAHR “made the decision to provide animals to the university.”

The University of Queensland has advised that they use pound animals for training veterinary surgeons and in feeding trial research.


The use of pound dogs creates a dependence on pet overpopulation and is therefore taking advantage of the human irresponsibility and cruelty necessitating pounds rather than addressing the problem. It is unethical

The primary justification for using pound animals in research and teaching is that they are already destined to die. However we have been advised by the RSPCA Queensland that they are able to rehome as many dogs as the councils can supply, and so the argument that these animals will die anyway is unfounded and unethical

Trainee veterinarians should be learning to respect life. Killing those who they are expected to heal sends a confusing message that can result in desensitisation to killing and a loss of respect for life.

There are already alternatives available in veterinary teaching that allow students to acquire an education equal to those that use animals in terminal surgery. Use of any sentient beings is unethical. The use of pound dogs is not only unethical a failure to implement the “3R’s” (reduction, refinement and replacement) principle.

If it is necessary for veterinary students to practice on real animals then they could provide a desexing service to pounds and shelters thereby providing a real benefit for the individual animals who are only there due to human irresponsibility.

The Australian code of practice for the care and use of animals for scientific purposes (ergo the law), although fundamentally flawed and speciesist, clearly states “Scientific and teaching activities using animals may be performed only when they are essential” (1.1) and “Techniques that totally or partially replace the use of animals for scientific purposes must be sought and used wherever possible.” (1.8)

You can help them stop!
Please write to the following Councils and request that they cease providing their lost and abandoned animals to Queensland University.

Mr Chris Rose
Chief Executive Officer
Logan City Council
PO Box 3226
Logan City DC
Qld 4114

Mr Rob Noble
Chief Executive Officer
Caboolture Shire Council
PO Box 159
Caboolture
Qld 4510

Jude Munro
Chief Executive Officer
Brisbane Council
GPO Box 2287
Brisbane
Qld 4001

Also write to The University of Queensland asking them to cease the use of live animals for training and adopt overseas methods.

Prof. Leigh Ward
Chair, University Animal Ethics Committee
University of Queensland
Brisbane
Qld 4072

Friday April 18, 2008, 7:24 pm
More detailed contact details to urge various councils and the University of Queensland to end the unethical use of shelter animals in research and vet training

Mr Chris Rose
Chief Executive Officer
Logan City Council
PO Box 3226
Logan City DC
Qld 4114

Online contact form:
Contact Logan Council online form

Mr Rob Noble
Chief Executive Officer
Caboolture Shire Council
PO Box 159 Caboolture
Qld 4510

Caboolture online contact form:
Contact Caboolture online contact form here

Jude Munro
Chief Executive Officer
Brisbane Council
GPO Box 2287
Brisbane Qld 4001

Contact Brisbane City Council
Conact Brisbane City Council online

Also write to The University of Queensland asking them to use ethical methods in training their veterinary students.

Prof. Leigh Ward
( email: l.ward@uq.edu.au )
Chair, University Animal Ethics Committee
University of Queensland
Brisbane Qld 4072 Australia

Contact online :
Contact Prof Ward from Uni of Queensland at this link, email address is above

Sunday April 20, 2008, 7:13 am
Thank you Live Vegan,,, this has to stop...on my lord. and noted.

Tuesday June 3, 2008, 1:20 am
UPDATE:
Brisbane's Lord Mayor says he is disappointed that a university failed to contact him to outline its case for continuing to use live animals for research.

The Brisbane City Council has announced it will no longer supply dogs from its pounds to the University of Queensland's veterinary department.

Councillor Campbell Newman placed a temporary ban on the supply of dogs pending a review and says the university has since failed to justify the practice.

"In fact I haven't seen any attempt to come to council and talk about why they need these animals for this research and on that basis, therefore I cannot support this practice continuing," he said.

The RSPCA's Michael Beattie says there are alternatives to using live animals.

"There are a number of different things that can be done in terms of actual surgery at the university," he said

"They call them virtual alternatives that can be used - they use those extensively in England and most parts of the US, down in Sydney as well."

Labor Councillor Steve Griffiths has backed the council's decision to stop supplying the university with dogs.

"Certainly in my ward office, we got a number of responses through to say that people were opposed to this practice," he said.

"I think the 92,000 dog owners of Brisbane believe that there are alternatives, they support what the RSPCA is saying in that there are alternatives and there are better ways of treating our pound cats and dogs."