GRAFTON, Mass. (AP) – Dogs used in Tufts University research were euthanized on New Year’s Day and their leg bones removed for study despite protest over treatment of the animals.
The five animals were killed as part of a Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine study of better ways to heal dogs’ broken legs.
Researchers had deliberately broken each dog’s hind legs. One leg was fixed with pins and rods – the current treatment for such injuries – while the other leg was treated with a newly developed flexible bone brace.
A post-mortem analysis will allow researchers to test the strength of the healed fractures, Tufts Veterinary School Dean Philip C. Kosch wrote in a statement to campus employees.
“If successful, this research will offer thousands of dogs with tibial fractures a new treatment for faster and stronger bone healing,” Kosch wrote.
The dogs were given lethal injections, in accordance with guidelines laid out by the American Veterinary Medical Association, said Tufts spokeswoman Barbara Donato.
“The dogs were euthanized in a humane manner,” Donato said.
About 30 activists protested the plan to put the dogs down and asked researchers to instead use high-tech bone scanners to gather the same data. The school said the activists’ plan would not have provided the same quality of results.
“I’m kind of in shock here,” said activist and veterinary student Tara Turner. “I’m sad that (Tufts) didn’t take this opportunity to move forward in a more humane manner.”
AP-ES-01-03-04 1526EST
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