The Jeanne Marchig International Centre for Animal Welfare Education was delighted to support the first debate organised by the student-led Veterinary Ethics Forum.
After an introduction to the issues surrounding selective breeding for specific aesthetic, behavioural or functional traits by Heather Bacon of the JMICAWE, the group of 30-40 veterinary students debated the topic of "At what point does breeding animals for traits become unacceptable?” facilitated by Dr Andrew Gardiner.
Olivia Nathan, the student chair said of the event:
“In the initial debate, breed standards were hauled over the coals and health and welfare were unanimously decided to be at least somewhat compromised in exchange for other traits by many breeders of both companion and livestock species! But how much is too much? We had some great discussion, with people comparing and contrasting dog breeding with farming, questioning the rights of a regulatory body to impose restrictions on an entire group of dogs, discussing what vets could do to have a direct impact and trying to figure out where to draw the line.”
Both staff and students are looking forward to the next meeting and future discussions.
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