UGC bans dissection at UG, PG levels

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has issued a notification to universities and colleges, directing them to stop dissection and experimentation for training purposes for zoology and life sciences at undergraduate and postgraduate levels. The notification is an extension to its 2011 partial ban on dissection.

All  institutions have been notified to avoid experiments on animals for the purpose of acquiring manual skill and not use animals protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, particularly frogs and fish.

Colleges have also been instructed to include a chapter on “animal ethics”. The UGC states that the ban is to prevent disruption of biodiversity and to maintain ecological balance.