Veterinary students at a university in central Taiwan are using artificial animals to learn how to treat real ones. Traditionally, students would practice on live animals but concerns have been raised for years about whether this is humane.
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00:00Intubating a fake dog, a way for these vet students to practice their skills
00:05without having to use real ones.
00:08The students practice performing CPR on the dog and bandaging up its leg.
00:14On an artificial cow with organs made to look real, they can practice helping it give
00:18birth to an artificial calf. They can even learn to take blood from an artificial fish.
00:31Traditionally, vet students often practice on live animals, but questions have been raised
00:38for years about whether this is humane. Practicing on artificial animals reduces students'
00:43reliance on real animals to learn the ropes. It's being tried not just in Taiwan, but
00:47also in some other parts of the world.
01:01But some say practicing on artificial animals also has its limitations, because it's
01:06not the same as treating a real animal. But this university expects to add more types
01:11of artificial animals in the future, depending on what students need.
01:15Scott Huang and Cadence Coranta for Taiwan Plus.