Ban on use of animals in dental training: DCI

In a meeting held on February 22, 2013 the Executive Committee of the Dental Council of India (DCI) announced ban on use of animals in teaching both undergraduate and postgraduate dental students. The decision was taken after DCI , Medical Council of India(MCI) and the Pharmacy Council of India(PCI) – including extensive PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) campaign – were issued guidelines by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to stop dissection and experimentation on animals for training both undergraduate and postgraduate students .

Henceforth, the procedures that require the use of animals will now be scrapped from the practical curriculum for training and teaching dentistry to dental students. PETA India Science Policy Advisor Dr Chaitanya Koduri said, “This is a tremendous victory for animals who will no longer be killed to teach dentistry students when humane, non-animal teaching methods have proved to be superior," reported TOI.

Subsequently, PETA has forwarded several complaints received from whistleblowers to the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experimentation on Animals.