Legalities of cutting up dead animals.

[Tops]

From what I read I think you have to have a license to perform dissection on animals. If your at school or a vets practise they would have the license so it would be fine. You can have an individual license though if you really wanted. I couldnt be bothered to read too much into it.
Lots of documents on
National Intelligence Machinery (no idea why it says national intelligence machinery when its Guidance on the Operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986)

[messengermatt]

My own vet said i was allowed to disect my water dragons to assume cause of death and he also said there is nothing to stop you burying it in the garden either.

People bury their cats and dogs in the garden so its hardly going to be an issue with something 10 times as small if not 100.

[ratboy]

Originally Posted by t-bo

On a side note, I wonder if the people who were so outraged before will have a change of heart if she sucsessfuly incubates the eggs.

Had it just been a thread about getting the eggs, I doubt anyone would have said a word. But to post pictures of a DIY autopsy with a kitchen knife with descriptions about playing with the poor animals Gall bladder went so OTT as to be believable.

Will the forum allow images of DIY autopsies of dead dogs and cats ?

As for the legality, the previous thread stated that after being cut open the body remains become clinical waste and there are very strict laws on disposal of the carcas and the organs, especially since both are potentially diseased.

Practises like the one shown could easily put the person doing it at risk of disease as well as anyone else and any other animals in the vicinity.

[Andy]

Ah who gives a toss really. If people want to cut up their dead pets then thats up to them. I didn't see anyone complaining when someone was using mealworms to strip the flesh off their dead pets, which to me is alot more disturbing.

[ratboy]

Originally Posted by Andy

Ah who gives a toss really. If people want to cut up their dead pets then thats up to them. I didn't see anyone complaining when someone was using mealworms to strip the flesh off their dead pets, which to me is alot more disturbing.

Indeed it is up to them. But it's not obligatory to post all about it on a forum. I believe RodneyVet was on the verge of leaving over it last time... and that would have been a big loss compared to a few photographs and "look what I did" posts.

[Andy]

Its not obligatory to read them either. I know I didn't read the thread again after they said they were going to post pics of the dead snake. Its not something that interests me at all.

[gtm]

Originally Posted by ratboy

Indeed it is up to them. But it's not obligatory to post all about it on a forum. I believe RodneyVet was on the verge of leaving over it last time... and that would have been a big loss compared to a few photographs and "look what I did" posts.

Yes - but Rodney does know what he's doing. I doubt the educational value of an amateur dissection

[sparkle]

I cant see the problem with cutting up something.. I can see another few issues.. Posting it over a forum is unessecary.. I think

I can however see a serious issue if a vet tells their client to cut up their lizard ( messengermatt) to ascertain cause of death.. not a legal issue, just an issue around doing it correctly and actually being able to perform biopsies etc.. i cant see how thats remotely possible in a kitchen at home with no access to a lab.. its not a proper Pm or even a professional one with prcedures that are thourough enough to lead to a professional conclusion..

it may be interesting to do.. but how worthy the decided outcome would be of a non professional is highly dubious.. and for a vet to suggest it seems odd..

if I wanted to know why my animal had died i would not take the risk of personally guessing by cutting it up myself.. if however i was not requiring a cause of death.. I may open it up out of interest without the need to KNOW why it had died..

although i cant really see the point to be honest

[snickers]

I find this very odd. I cut up dead animals all the time. Trout and mackerel mainly, but also chicken, turkey, goose, an occasional rabbit. I've watched it on telly quite a bit too on many more types of animal, and at a couple of shows at the NEC.

The motivation is different, but the pictures are exactly the same and no vets involved.

[Grond]

Many koi carp owners perform their own PM's and books showing what to look for under a microscope are available. It's often the only way to be sure what disease/parasite is present and enable you to treat the others to prevent further deaths.

Maybe this is because it's difficult to take fish to the vets(although once they're dead there's no issue) I don't know.

I understood that it was diagnosing/treating/PMing other peoples animals that was the problem.

A law that generally prevents dead animals being cut up would be ludicrous as it would prevent people from butchering meat/hunting/fishing etc. If I carve my chicken at dinner, should I call the cops??

I think it's just to prevent cowboys setting up as 'vets' and conning/misinforming people.