Conscientious Objection to Animal Experimentation
Law No. 413 of 12 October 1993, concerning the “Regulations on Conscientious Objection to Animal Experimentation”, states that "Doctors, researchers and healthcare personnel from the professional, technical and nursing qualified roles, as well as the university students concerned, who have declared their conscientious objection, are not obliged to take part directly in activities or interventions specifically and necessarily directed at animal experimentation" (Article 2, paragraph 1) and that “University students should declare their conscientious objection to the course lecturer, within whose scope activities or interventions involving animal experimentation may fall, at the start of the course” (Article 3, paragraph 2).
Students at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Milan who wish to declare their conscientious objection to animal experimentation may do so at any time during their university studies by completing the attached form. The form must be completed in duplicate and submitted to the Academic Services, located at the former Faculty Presidency. One copy will be retained, while the other, stamped and/or countersigned, will be returned to the objector.
It should be noted that the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Milan does not use animal experimentation in its teaching programmes. Therefore, the conditions for the application of Law No. 413 of 12 October 1993, “Regulations on conscientious objection to animal experimentation”, do not apply to teaching activities on the various degree courses.
A different situation arises in some postgraduate specialisation schools and, additionally, in undergraduate or doctoral theses, that may involve animal experimentation. In the event of conscientious objection, it is understood that the development of such theses must first be discussed with the supervising tutor to verify the compatibility of the conscientious objection with the thesis’ objectives. The student is also entitled to develop a thesis on the same subject within the chosen discipline, on a related topic, or in another subject that does not involve animal experimentation activities. Furthermore, it should be noted that most available theses do not involve procedures connected with animal experimentation.