The Royal Veterinary College (RVC) delivers undergraduate courses in biological sciences, veterinary medicine and veterinary nursing, postgraduate taught courses in a wide range of veterinary-related subject areas and clinical training to veterinary graduates, as well as continuing professional development courses (CPD courses) for veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses from many areas of clinical practice.

It's important that all our students are given the best experience possible with a particular emphasis on prioritising the welfare of animals used in teaching activities.

Many of our courses benefit from “hands-on” learning, where some aspects are facilitated by using healthy animals and/or cadaveric material. Use of healthy animals and cadaveric material in teaching is overseen by the RVC Clinical Research Ethical Review Board (healthy animals at Hawkshead Campus and cadaver material at both campuses) and Animal Welfare Ethical Review Body (healthy animals at Camden Campus).

Healthy Animals

Hawkshead Campus

The healthy animals used in teaching include those kept at Boltons Park Farm which is a working dairy farm owned by the RVC. There are 90 pedigree Holstein Friesian cows milking at the farm and 80 young stock. Also, on the farm at different times of year are up to 600 sheep of mixed breeds, 130 laying hens and a small number of pigs.

The RVC owns 5 ponies and 3 horses which are kept for teaching purposes and an additional 4 horses who are mainly used as blood donors but are occasionally recruited for teaching activities. These animals are cared for by the RVC Equine Referral Hospital technicians.

 When dogs are required, animals owned by RVC staff and students that have been assessed by teaching staff with dog experience as suitable for assisting with teaching are employed. Approximately 60 dogs are used in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching sessions annually with each dog being used on average 3 times per year (range 1-10 times).

When other species are required for specific teaching sessions, their use is considered on an individual basis and specific owner consent for their use in teaching obtained.

Camden Campus

The RVC-owned healthy animals used in teaching include two calves, two rabbits, two hamsters, nine guinea pigs, 20 rats, 42 mice and 30 zebrafish. The calves come from Boltons Park Farm and are used for teaching in Camden for a short period before returning to the herd and being replaced by a pair of younger animals. In addition, 24 healthy ferrets are used with owner consent. The routine husbandry of all these animals is carried out by Biological Services Unit (BSU) staff.

When dogs are required, animals owned by RVC staff and students that have been assessed by teaching staff with dog experience as suitable for assisting with teaching are employed.

When other species are required for specific teaching sessions, their use is considered on an individual basis and specific owner consent to obtained.

Animal Welfare

The welfare of animals used in teaching activities is paramount. RVC-owned animals are cared for by expert technicians and the use of all animals in teaching is overseen by the RVC Ethics and Welfare Committee. Measures are put in place to ensure that no individual animal is used excessively, that animals get frequent rest breaks, that the teaching session is undertaken in a suitable environment for the species being used, that each species is handled correctly (e.g. using cupping or tunnel handling method for mice), maximum student numbers for each teaching session are adhered to and that all staff involved in teaching are trained to recognise signs of stress at which point that animal will be removed from the teaching session. The use of the animals is reviewed on an annual basis by the relevant RVC ethical review board.

In a broader context, as well as ensuring that the welfare of the individual animals used for teaching is prioritised, our teaching with live animals raises the standard of animal welfare generally. The use of live animals for teaching of appropriate handling techniques and diagnostic examinations in a well-controlled environment where students are supervised by staff with expertise in animal welfare and welfare-focussed handling techniques, means that when those students graduate a high standard of welfare will be employed by those graduates in their interactions with the animals with which they will subsequently work.

Cadavers and cadaveric material

Cadavers and cadaveric materials are sometimes required for hands-on teaching at both campuses to allow students to experience the correct feel of tissues being handled without the need to practise on live animals (for instance surgical techniques, locoregional anaesthesia techniques).

Cadavers and cadaveric material are obtained from a number of sources each of which has been approved by the RVC Clinical Research Ethical Review Board (CRERB) with specific owner consent. Sources include animals donated via the RVC Educational Memorial Program, residual tissues that remain after an animal has undergone a post mortem examination at the RVC, by-products of the food industry from Food Standards Agency approved abattoirs, by-products of the pet-food industry from suppliers that are inspected by DEFRA, fallen stock collected by premises approved by DEFRA for animal by-products operating plants and RVC owned animals that die or are euthanised for veterinary reasons.

As well as the source of the cadaver needing to be approved, individual teaching sessions that require cadaveric material are also approved by the RVC CRERB.