Dear Atanu, which is the reason for the ban? Is it animal right, ethic and moral consideration about the animal right? Economic reason? What about the use of experimentation with plants. The plants were ban too. The plants are life like animal. I am not specialist but I think that medical sciences, pharmacology and toxicology research need the use of laboratory animal to test products and know effect, test vaccine, antibiotic, etc. Perhaps in undergraduate level today is possible to see animation, films and documentaries with HD and 3D that could be good for students in anatomy and physiology class. I consider that postgraduate level need more affectivity in the investigation results and need evaluate quantitative the effects in physiology, anatomy, etc.

Perhaps my thinking is wrong but today there are extremes measurement when the animal right is in play. The history of advance of the science is marked by the use of laboratory animal in medical research. Have all animal the same right independently of their hierarchy level in the evolution? Must be the flies and the monkeys protected in the same way about their use as lab animal? The lab rat and mice must be protected but the invasive rat and mice as pest must be controlled? What about parasites? What about the livestock production? There are many contradictories examples.

I am sure that with the advance of new technology, like printing in 3D could be possible the create models like animals for anatomy studies for student experimentation, however for medical investigation the experimentation with animal play an important role in the advance of the human and animal health and the advance of the sciences in general.

I know that the topic is complicate and very sensitive in some countries. Today some societies are very extremes with the laws related with the animal right, however in our world, other social problems with the children and women rights are delayed. The human as thinking must be give the correct priorities in our actions.

I think  we can  avoid animal  for teaching but we still  need them  for the research

Is it possible to carryout research in the domain of animal and medical sciences without involving animals?

In the area of human pharmaceutical drug development, it is unfortunately both necessary and mandatory to do some experiments on non-human animals prior to initiating testing in humans. These experiments include animal models of disease used in the discovery phase of research. Investigations of the pharmacokinetics of the candidate drug are done in animals of different sizes in order to assist in the prediction of the pharmacokinetics in humans. Animal experiments are a key part of safety assessment of the candidate drug.

In vivo testing is minimized whenever possible, but some in vivo experiments just can't be avoided.

Conducted unnecessary research on  animal  is non-ethical    

Dear Anwar A Hussain

Please remember that not all  of us eating animal 

Some animal  are forbidden for some peoples too 

The fact is that,  who decide the limit of non ethical and ethical? Moreover, what is ethic? The concept changes around the world, depending of culture, power, education, money etc. The ethic have been changing with the history, many time link to the power systems. The ethic is difficult assume when the people is living in the limit of starvation.

Hi Prof. Pati, you have raised a question which is being discussed by teachers, students and researchers for the last many years. This issue has become highlighted by the circulars of the UGC, New Delhi. I fully agree that animals should be used in an ethical manner under regulated regime(s). No one should kill or torture any animal any where, and I think the scientific community is very careful in this regard. We have guidelines for using animals for teaching and research. The ban on use of animals for teaching at PG levels seems to be based on emotional reason and not on scientific reason. To the best of my knowledge, the two circulars of the UGC are purely administrative and not based on any recommendation of any expert committee constituted for the purpose involving science teachers and/or researchers. When some one talks about cruelty to animals used for teaching at UG/PG levels, the person is not informed that commonly available animals are used for the educational purpose. For example, chickens and other poultry birds and common species of fishes are used in a restricted manner for teaching. If some one has objection to use of these common animals for educational purposes, the person or agency concerned should ban the rearing and sell of these animals and other animals reared and sold for meat, which are killed in millions (if not billions) each day. Since restricted use of common animal species has helped the scientific communities to understand several dangerous diseases and to develop medicines, diagnostic kits for human welfare, the UGC should be requested to constitute a national committee of experts to allow restricted and regulated use of animals for educational and research purposes because these animals are used daily in hundreds of tones in each city/town as animal meat. Banning of the use of animals in teaching will retard and block scientific research pertaining to human health and diseases and development of new medicines as well as finish the disciplines of animal sciences and pharmaceutical sciences in due course. 

Dear Braj, I am totally agree with you