Conscientious Objection

A conscientious belief can be defined as an individual's genuinely held inward conviction of what is morally right or wrong, uninfluenced by any consideration of personal advantage or disadvantage either to oneself or others. This includes the belief that animals should not be harmed for educational purposes.

Curtin University of Technology has just released their Conscientious Objection Policy.

Curtin’s policy now enshrines the right of students that are opposed to harming animals for the sake of education to object and request an alternative assessment or teaching practice.

Murdoch University instigated their own Guidelines on Conscientious Objection in Teaching and Assessment in 1998 after a high profile campaign by animal rights advocate Andrew Knight opposing harmful animal use within the veterinary science curriculum. Murdoch became the first Australian university to adopt such a policy.

As yet, ARA is unaware of a similar policy at the University of Western Australia or the University of Notre Dame.

If you would like support in being a conscientious objector at your educational institution please contact ARA. We can provide you with resources, links to other conscientious objectors and can provide advocacy support.

Additional Resources

Find out more information on conscientious objection and alternatives to animal use in science and education:

Humane Learning

International Network for Humane Education

Learning Without Killing: A Guide to Conscientious Objection

This guide to conscientious objection by Dr Andrew Knight provides students with the resources they need to maximize their chances of success.

It includes detailed information about humane alternatives and the reasons why they should be used – enough to make any student far more knowledgeable about the topic than their opponents; a detailed set of steps to follow when conscientiously objecting that should maximize a student’s chances of success; a set of 15 very inspiring stories from students around the world who have been highly successful in their own campaigns; a list of nine of the world’s best resources on humane alternatives and conscientious objection that may be found in the libraries of most Australian and New Zealand campuses that use animals in their teaching, and in the libraries of numerous animal rights groups worldwide; descriptions and internet addresses of some of the world’s best alternatives databases; descriptions and subscription instructions for some excellent humane education email lists; and a list of animal rights and other groups that may be able to offer further assistance to students.

Download Learning Without Killing.

From Guinea Pig to Computer Mouse (2nd ed.)

The groundbreaking publication From Guinea Pig to Computer Mouse (2nd ed.) is now available for free download.

First published in 2003, with minor updates made in February 2006, the 520-page book provides full details of over 500 alternatives, including description, specification and source. It also offers background information on the diversity of alternative tools and approaches, a review of published studies that assess alternatives through learning performance, and an exploration of curricular design. Seven case studies written by university heads of department who have fully replaced harmful animal use describe the experience of developing and implementing best practice teaching methods. The book also provides links to over 600 further resources.

Download a pdf of From Guinea Pig to Computer Mouse.

Hardcopies are also now available at most Western Australian university libraries through ARA’s library donation program.