Medical students at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional in Mexico City are being forced to perform surgical practices on live rabbits [1, 2].
This situation highlights a growing conflict between traditional medical pedagogy and modern animal welfare standards. The insistence on live animal experimentation—despite the availability of artificial intelligence and technological simulations—raises ethical concerns regarding the necessity of such practices in contemporary medical education.
According to reports, the institution plans to sacrifice 34 rabbits for these surgical exercises [1]. The students are reportedly required to participate in these procedures and are not given the option to refuse the practice [1, 2].
Animal rights activist Perla Anerol said students are often unaware of their right to decline participation in these activities [2]. The persistence of these protocols is attributed to institutional habit and a lack of will to transition to newer teaching methods [1, 2].
Critics argue that the use of live animals is an outdated approach. Modern medical training can now utilize high-fidelity simulators, and AI-driven tools to achieve the same learning outcomes without causing animal suffering [1, 2]. Despite these alternatives, the traditional protocols remain the standard at the institute.
“The institution plans to sacrifice 34 rabbits for these surgical exercises.”
The controversy at the Instituto Politécnico Nacional reflects a broader global debate over the ethics of animal experimentation in academia. As AI and synthetic biological models become more sophisticated, the legal and ethical threshold for justifying the use of live animals in classrooms is shifting, putting pressure on traditional institutions to modernize their curricula.
