Veterinary education traditionally relied on terminal animal procedures for teaching surgical skills. The transition toward models, simulators, and shelter partnerships is transforming both welfare and educational quality.
The welfare transition in veterinary education illustrates how 3Rs principles (Replace, Reduce, Refine) can improve both animal welfare and educational outcomes simultaneously. Students who practice on simulators before live animals make fewer errors, develop greater confidence, and often perform better clinically. Shelter partnerships that allow students to provide real veterinary care — spay/neuter, vaccination, dental procedures — give genuine clinical experience while providing welfare services to shelter animals. The transition has been faster in Europe than in the US and other regions, partly reflecting cultural differences in animal use and partly regulatory differences. The trajectory is clear: veterinary education is moving toward animal use reduction without compromising the quality of veterinary graduates, demonstrating that welfare improvement and educational effectiveness are compatible goals.