Eyewitness Accounts

Death at UQ Labs

She said that they were left in the truck for long periods of time and that they could smell the stench of dead dogs and were very agitated.

The vet was very concerned as she said that experiments were carried out on greyhounds while under anaesthetic and when these had concluded they were 'pickled' while still under, so that the students could then learn about different parts of the greyhound, the organs, muscles and bones etc.

She said she was the only one in her class who openly protested against the use and killing of live healthy dogs and other animals in teaching vet science. She said she was marked down in her course for verbally protesting. She also said dogs used in her vet course were sourced from a pound (shelter). The University also picked up unwanted greyhounds to be used and killed by the students.

Many greyhounds used in vet schools were often cared for by families till the dogs were no longer winning any more money on the race track. What a betrayal of trust to abandon these dogs to become tools of research at vet schools and other research institutions!

She also stated hearing a dog continuously screaming in pain for about 5 minutes.  She said she went into the back room to see why the dog was screaming. She said the person with the dog said it was being pumped full of a chemical  to preserve it. When she asked why the dog was screaming, she was told it was being "a sook" (cowardly and weak minded colloquialism) over its injection.

A chemical is injected into some sedated dogs to help preserve them before they are killed (a chimeical so potent, the fumes from which often irritates the eyes and lungs of students). Keeping them alive during the process allows the heart to pump the chemical evenly around the dog's body to preserve the body.

It is absolutely normal for all first & second year students to dissect formaldehyde preserved greyhounds. There is an enormous supply that regularly comes to the back doors of the anatomy building. I remember being witness to a station wagon load of rejected racing greyhounds who, one by one were led out of the car into the dissection room to be euthanased.

The supply of greyhounds is quite regular, at least monthly if not fortnightly. It is also very easy for someone who knows where the dissection room is to walk by and actually see the killed preserved greyhounds all lined up on their backs, legs in the air next to one another on racks.  At the beginning of the semester it is not unusual to see approximately 20 to 30 dogs.  As there is usually around 100-120 students one dog is shared amongst 4 students you can see that a lot of dogs end up used in universities.  Then you have second year as well to supply dogs to for anatomy practice.

It seems as if there is an agreement with the greyhound racing industry people [and]  the university, as anyone can see the dogs being led into the dissection room in broad daylight. It is a very public area and there is absolutely no discretion practiced. Some of the students have even put some of the dogs down under supervision, then the co-ordinators of the anatomy classes take them for preserving; I might add that many times in dissection classes I personally had to abandon the dissection as the fumes from the formalin greatly irritated the eyes, nose and throat so much that it was impossible to continue.  Other students also complained of this on numerous occasions.

I can guarantee you that the Australian racing authorities are totally incorrect in saying that greyhounds are not used in veterinary schools as I can take anyone who wishes to see the set up to see it for themselves.

Could I ask you kindly, to not use my name in any correspondence you may have with any university or animal body in Australia as in the past I have experienced discrimination and prejudice due to my conscientious beliefs.  I would be very grateful for this.