Group Protests UA's Use Of Animals In Medical Training

TUCSON, AZ —A group called Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine was joined by several members of the public Thursday for a demonstration at the University of Arizona Medical Campus, where protesters called for an end to the use of live animals at the university's surgery residency.

According to Physicians Committee, UA trainees practice invasive medical procedures on live pigs before the animals are killed, and the protesters came armed with signs that said "End Animal Use" and "Modernize Medical Training."

The Physicians Committee also has purchased five billboards around the campus to help spread the message.

The billboards feature a picture of a surgeon and include the message: "Does UA Think You're a Pig? Stop Using Animals To Teach Human Medicine." They then direct people to the website ArizonaDeservesBetter.org.

According to the group, the use of animals to teach surgical procedures is both morally wrong and educationally behind the times. Now, remarkably lifelike medical simulators offer superior training and can include layers of skin, fat and muscle, replicate human anatomy and simulate bleeding, the group said.

"These lifesaving skills are best learned on human-relevant methods, ensuring that the transition from training to treating patients is not such a big leap," said John Pippin, director of academic affairs with the Physicians Committee. "You don't learn how to drive a car by practicing on a bike, just as UA's use of pigs is inappropriate for training future surgeons."

The Physicians Committee said it conducted a survey and discovered that 76 percent of hospitals and universities that responded do not use animals in their training. In fact, the groups said that local training programs —including UA's Phoenix campus, the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix and Midwestern University at Mount Vista Medial Center —use "educationally superior methods that accurately replicate human anatomy and physiology," instead of using animals.

The group also pointed out that the University of Washington, Vanderbilt University, the Cleveland Clinic and the University of Virginia all have replaced animals in their medical training programs since 2020.

When asked about the issue by KGUN, a representative from the University of Arizona College of Medicine did not deny the use of animals for training, but explained why the method is beneficial.

"The research we conduct is vital to advancing science and health care practices that ultimately save and improve lives," the representative said.

The Physician Committee's five billboards all are located within 1.5 miles of the UA campus, and can be found at:

• West Side of N Stone Avenue, 230 feet north of W Adams Street
• North Side of E Grant Road, 25 feet east of N Forgeus Avenue
• East side of N Country Club Road, 250 feet north of E Speedway Boulevard
• West side of N Stone Avenue, 230 feet north of Adams Street
• West side of N Stone Avenue, 140 feet south of E Lester Street.