Opportunities for Vets: MCI issues notification on Animal Experiments

Pashu Sandesh, 27th December 2019

Medical Council of India (MCI) on 3rd December issued a  Gazette notification as an amendment to the “Post Graduate Medical Education Regulations 2000” which is now called the “Postgraduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulations, 2019”. The notification clarifies on the contentious issue of Animal experiments in the Medical Colleges across India. 

The notification reads :

“Animal experimentation should continue to be included as an integral part of the competency-based curriculum of Postgraduate Courses in Physiology and Pharmacology in medical institutions and the concerned medical institutions shall ensure that all governing statutory regulations with regard to the use of animals experimentation in Postgraduate Courses in teaching and training of the said Postgraduate courses are strictly adhered to”.

This notification is surely going to bother the Animal lovers who have always championed against any kind of Animal Experimentations in the Institutions. 

MCI has already issued notification for the Under Graduate course ie MBBS that “For teaching Physiology and Pharmacology in UG curriculum, the required knowledge and skills should be imparted by using the computer-assisted module. Only an animal hold area, as per CPCSEA Guidelines is required.

Through this notification, MCI has stopped the unnecessary use of animals in the experiments which can be demonstrated to the students through Computer simulations. Hiding behind the notification meant for MBBS course, Medical Colleges have stopped Animal Experiments altogether and with that the maintenance of Animal Houses.

Why we are saying that this notification would create opportunities for Vets??

As per the MCI guidelines maintenance of an Animal House require a Veterinary Doctor to be posted full time which is also mandated by the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA). Now all those Medical Colleges which are running Post Graduate Medical Courses in the subject of Physiology and Pharmacology will have to have a fully functional Animal House as mandated by the MCI. This will create job opportunities for Vets all across the nation. 

Animal Experiments which are done to demonstrate an already known scientific fact are surely a waste of resources and precious Animal lives. But for the new research and drug development, certain Animal Experiments are required which has been duly clarified and acknowledged by the MCI through “Postgraduate Medical Education (Amendment) Regulations, 2019”.