<p>I'm not sure how exactly to phrase my question, but how much laboratory work is actually conducted on animals? I imagine some of the courses have to involve vivisection/dissection or other experiments. I have very strong ethical objections against animal experimentation, and I'm thinking maybe this field isn't right for me. I want to follow a pre-vet track.</p>
<p>Any insight is very appreciated.</p>
<p>With all due respect, you might want to rethink vet school. While there is comparatively little or no dissection in most undergraduate animal science courses (there are a few exceptions), that is certainly not true of many courses in vet school, where you will have extensive experience with dissection, including animals that are euthanized just prior to dissection. Many vet schools, although not all, still have their students practice terminal surgeries in some courses -- where otherwise healthy animals are euthanized after surgeries in which vet students hone their skills. There is a trend toward alternative training methods -- computer modeling for surgery, for example -- but the truth is that as a vet student, you are going to be exposed to many sick and/or dying animals and some very graphic procedures. Sorry to be blunt, but that's how it works.</p>
<p>what he said</p>
<p>you might try taking a course on ethics/philosophy at cornell before you decide what your views are...</p>
<p>you have to remember that with the skills/knowledge you get from killing one you'll possibly save hundreds once you're a vet...</p>
<p>I understand it will be hard for you...so you'll have to make a decision..</p>
<p>Will you allow some OTHER vet to dissect them (if you don't take the spot in the vet class - someone else will)..</p>
<p>..Or will you suck it up, learn how to save lives thanks to the sacrifice of a few other animals and save hundreds of other animals in their memory.</p>
<p>and you have to remember that even doctors or vets are not flawless...surgeons have patients die on the table very often...and vets do as well...</p>
<p>do you have any experience with animals?</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies. I don't have a problem with having patients die on the table or handling very sick/dying animals, my problem is more with the fact that a healthy animal would be euthanized for dissection. I understand you are killing one to save a lot, but it still doesn't sit well with me. </p>
<p>I have experience volunteering at two animal shelters over 2 years, and I've had pets all my life. I think it's best I stay away from majors involving animals.</p>
<p>I'm not sure what other careers can come out of a major in animal sciences. I haven't researched as far as vet school, and I'm thinking this really isn't for me. Thank you for your help.</p>
<p>My daughter is an animal science major and an early admission candidate to the College of Veterinary Medicine at Kansas State University. Although she is going to vet school, many of her fellow animal science students are not. Here's a link to K-State's animal science major description. It should give you a better idea of other things that you can do with an animal science degree other than go to vet school: <a href="http://consider.k-state.edu/majorslist/AnimalSciIndustry.pdf%5B/url%5D">http://consider.k-state.edu/majorslist/AnimalSciIndustry.pdf</a></p>
<p>I was an animal science major, although not at Cornell, many years ago. </p>
<p>I never took a course where we had to dissect anything -- but we did have a series of labs where we worked with parts of carcasses that the school obtained from slaughterhouses. I also never took a meats course, but most everyone in the animal science department did. I mostly concentrated on herd management of different species -- livestock, dairy, and equine.</p>
<p>I did learn to do various procedures on live animals, but nothing that involved pain for the animals or any sort of cutting or surgery. This was awhile ago and things may have changed. </p>
<p>Essentially animal science, despite my current career in the pet industry, is not about companion animals; it's about <em>food production</em> ranging from meat products and dairy products, to poultry products and a tiny bit of animal fiber products.</p>
<p>When you are thinking about vet school, remember that it's medical school for animals. If you would never be interested in medical school, you are probably not interested enough in medicine to go to vet school.</p>
<p>^Good advice, to which I'll add the following: also remember that veterinary school, like medical school, involves a heavily science based curriculum. If you don't like the idea of studying anatomy, virology, comparative embryology, cell biology, genetics, etc., etc., etc., then you're going to hate vet school. And there are lots of difficult undergraduate science prerequisite courses BEFORE you get to vet school. Something to think about.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the great information. I was unaware that animal science had more to do with food production then physiology, behavior etc. Food production is DEFINITELY not what I want to study!</p>
<p>I'm leaning towards a different path now, thank you all very much for the information.</p>
<p>what you need to do is sit down and look at the curriculum for the majors that ineterest you...</p>
<p>with any major you'll have a core set of requirements but usually have room to tailor that major into the direction you want...</p>
<p>i.e. ILR major might take business courses as electives</p>
<p>It leans toward production? Really? I had a teacher in HS who took animal science and she said it was all about physiology, biology of animals, classification, ect.</p>
<p>Mishtophoid, there is a whole list of things you can do with an animal science degree that doesn't involve vet school. You could be an animal trainer, or you could work with companion animals. Maybe even open your own rescue facility.</p>
<p>Or - maybe you could look into a Zoology degree? I know for sure that it's more about the different types of animals and their structures - and you could possibly work in a zoo? For example...one of the people that helps new/homesick animals overcome their stress.</p>
<p>you guys have to remember that many of these programs are under the CALS school which is the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences...</p>
<p>too many students today are business oriented so they tailor their majors to be Agri-Business if in CALS...</p>
<p>there are plenty of students at cornell who study their fields b/c they have experienced it growing up (i.e. a farm kid studying dairy science) and want to get a degree to become more or less qualified experts...</p>
<p>having a business minor or focus in tailoring your major is not a bad thing...applying business courses to your major allows one to become well rounded...</p>
<p>you just dont want to know how an animal works you also want to know why this is important to life (human society/business)</p>
<p>I knew many people in Animal Science at Cornell. Many are involved in the production side (farming), but others are involved in the pre-veterinary side. I don't know what percentage is each. Based on my experience, a larger percentage seem to be production oriented.</p>
<p>Within the major, you choose the path best suited to your goals. The Vet side is going to be a great deal more science intensive.</p>
<p>To the OP... perhaps this will help you
CALS</a> Admissions: Preveterinary Preparation</p>
<p>Also - I don't know much about Animal Science, but I do know that my friends who are Animal Science majors are pre-vet... yea, I know - how many of those people are my friends? I guess I know about 6 of them! Not a very scientific survey :rolleyes:</p>
<p>From the Departments website:
[quote]
The department is devoted to undergraduate and graduate teaching, research and extension/outreach that focuses mostly on the biology and management of domestic animals. Our faculty advise and offer a large, diverse curriculum to more than 500 undergraduate majors and about 45 graduate students. We cater to a broad range of student interests and vocational objectives, including major programs designed to prepare students for careers in veterinary medicine, dairy science and management, agribusiness and academic teaching and research. We are especially proud of the quality of our faculty advising and our ability to offer experiential opportunities for undergraduate research, teaching, and outreach, plus an incredible range of internships. Opportunities for hands-on experience with small and large animals are excellent. All faculty are accomplished researchers whose disciplines include animal genetics, nutrition, physiology, growth biology, and management systems. Research problems are studied at multiple levels ranging from molecular and cellular biology to the applied biology and management of herds and flocks. The department is strongly committed to public education through its outreach to animal producers and their supporting industries, and to the youth of New York state.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>You should do you research before doing a 180 turn on your career decision based on a random message board.</p>
<p>Take a look at the Double Registration program on the above link - you can apply for early admission to Cornell Vet if you qualify...</p>
<p>^^^
Just want to offer my support for the above suggestion. You seemed to turn pretty quickly away from a potentially rewarding career path. </p>
<p>Look more deeply into it. Just because some people think of dairy farming when they think Animal Science does not mean that's all it is. </p>
<p>As I said above, many pre-vets are in the program doing a completely different curriculum track than farming.</p>
<p>What about pre-meds who are interested in animal science and its application to the human body? I spoke to Cornell and they told me specifically that its majors teach students how to become better researchers, not specifically designed for med school, but I assume that this major won't harm us in terms of expanding our knowledge of animals and it is also flexible in terms of upper division courses, so students could probably take a class like immunology or mamalian. Correct?</p>