Last Sunday, Animal Justice Advocates at UVA had their first interest meeting and vegan potluck after spending the past few months leafleting flyers promoting compassion toward animals and veganism to students on grounds. This soon-to-be official university organization is advocating for animal rights on every level. Predominately started by first years, these students have a lot of plans to promote compassion toward animals at UVA in the coming academic year and beyond.
The AJA mission is as follows: “Our goal is to foster the compassionate treatment of animals and promote awareness for the cruelty animals are often subjected to in factory farming, experimentation, entertainment, and other industries. We aim to open up discussions about relevant topics such as speciesism in a group environment that facilitates differing viewpoints while maintaining respect for individual opinions.”
AJA is open to vegans and non-vegans alike, with the goal of educating others about animal rights. One of the first actions of the club is addressing dissection in biology classes on grounds. Students taking BIOL 2200 and other biology classes have to dissect animals, including fetal pigs. For some, this goes against their moral beliefs, which aligns with the religious beliefs that protect many Americans from partaking in activities counter to their ethics according to the U.S. Constitution.
AJA members are working to provide students with other alternatives to dissection, such as a computer simulation. Providing a different option or completely eliminating hands-on dissection at the university would not only eliminate this issue, but also save the university money. The Physician’s Committee of Responsible Medicine reports that the average cost of a single fetal pig, dissection trays and tools not included, is $560. That’s a steep amount of cash to blow on a lesson that is not even the same thing most students will be doing surgery on during their careers (humans).
These issues, along with many others, are important to members of AJA, and likely many other UVA students. Next year, AJA plans to screen films about the cruel treatment of animals in industries like factory farming, beauty, science, and so on. Providing environments for students to have in-depth conversations about the impact of mistreatment toward animals for human pleasure will be a major goal for next year. Addressing the conditions of animals in the surrounding Charlottesville community and even broader contexts is also a concern of many students involved with AJA.
If you care about the welfare of animals, the environment, or your health, “like” Animal Justice Advocates at UVA on Facebook. You can also sign up for emails to get involved. Keep an eye out for this budding group of advocates on grounds looking to make some positive change by educating students about what they consume and contribute to when they use animal products in any form: food, fashion, beauty, entertainment, education, and the list goes on.
To contact AJA, you can email them at AJAatUVA.gmail.com. If you would like to learn more about veganism, check out these links: Earthlings, The Best Speech You Will Ever Hear, The Ultimate Vegan Guide.
