Handle with care

Veterinary Services Department director-general Datuk Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizam speaking to The Star in an interview in Putrajaya recently. M. Azhar Arif/The Star

SOME may feel squirmish with them. But frogs and mice have an important role in education, particularly in science and biology classes.

By this year, guidelines on how to properly handle and treat animals used in lessons at schools and universities will be finalised by the Veterinary Services Department (DVS).

The aim of this move is to ensure animals used in teaching are handled as humanely as possible.

“The guideline is still in its early stages of being drafted. So, the details are yet to be confirmed.

“But we will finalise it within this year to be endorsed by the Education Ministry,” DVS director-general Datuk Dr Quaza Nizamuddin Hassan Nizam (pic) tells the Sunday Star.

Once the Education Ministry agrees to the guidelines, circulars can be sent to schools and universities which use animals in teaching.

Dr Quaza Nizamuddin says they will serve as a reference point on how to properly treat and keep the animals while ensuring all aspects of animal welfare are adhered to.

While anyone found to be mistreating animals can be charged under the new Animal Welfare Act, he hopes the guidelines will prevent such cases of cruelty.

He says the DVS is also engaging with the ministry to include an animal welfare module in the country’s education system to inculcate love and compassion for animals among children and youths.

“We are looking into introducing this module at all levels, from pre-school to tertiary education.

“For example, children in pre-school can be taught using a pictorial guide on how to treat dogs and cats. They can also be taught to refrain from harming animals such as by throwing stones at strays,” Dr Quaza Nizamuddin explains.

Such a component, he says, can be in the form of a co-curricular programme but it is subject to discussions with the ministry.

“There are established animal welfare modules available worldwide.

“So we may consider including successful international programmes instead of creating one from scratch,” he says.

Dr Quaza Nizamuddin says it will encourage children to love animals, and in turn, become more caring human beings.

“We are trying to create a generation of people who know and respect animal welfare,” he adds.

The Education Ministry, when contacted, says it is still waiting for a meeting with the DVS to fine-tune the standard operating procedures on the usage of small animals in both teaching and learning, in schools as well as institutions of higher learning.

Examples of small animals to be covered under the guideline are mice, rabbits, frogs, cats and dogs, it adds.

Supporting the guideline, Deputy Education Minister Datuk Chong Sin Woon says it is a good step to promote more awareness.

“The new guidelines will also make it easier for schools and teachers to understand the proper methods to handle animals used in lessons,” he said.

Chong adds that there is a need to have a balanced education, where students are also taught to appreciate animal life.

Animal welfare groups hope the guidelines will uphold animal rights, with some calling for the live dissection of animals to be stopped.

Animal rights activist and lawyer Wong Ee Lynn says any guidelines to reduce harm to animals and promote better animal welfare will be good.

“This is not just for animals, but it will help create a more responsible and compassionate society,” she says.

But Wong urges the Government to reduce or completely do away with animal dissections in school.

“Live animal dissection undermines respect for life and desensitises young people to the pain and suffering of living beings.

“It is counter-intuitive to teach potential doctors and veterinarians that they have to take lives in order to heal and save lives,” she says.

Wong proposes that the guidelines by the DVS can include alternatives to dissections including computer simulations, interactive software and preserved dissection models.

“Or simply, there can be a reduction in animals dissected. For example, dissecting one animal per classroom instead of one per student, will be a cost-effective, logical and more compassionate option,” she says.

Wong adds that there is no evidence that students who directly carry out live animal dissection perform better academically or have greater potential as biologists, doctors or vets.

Lost Animal Souls Shelter founder and president Vignes Chelliah is also against the dissection of animals, calling it a cruel act.

“It should be outlawed.

“We learn about the human respiratory system through textbooks. We don’t need to dissect a live human being for this. Similarly, why should we dissect a live animal?” she questions.

Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) Selangor chairman Christine Chin welcomes the guidelines if they are able to raise the standards of treating animals used in education.

If the animals are not properly kept, it will be akin to cruelty.

However, she too feels that there are better ways for students to learn than to dissect a live animal.

“There are ways to circumvent it, such as by using video presentations,” says Chin.

She feels it is important for students and the public to be educated with humane methods in treating animals.

The DVS, on its part, has indicated that it will look into the possibility of banning animal dissection in school lessons.

National Union of the Teaching Profession secretary-general Harry Tan believes it will be ideal for the authorities to consult the union about the new guidelines.

“We need to study the reasons for this move before we can comment,” he says.