26 May 2004 02:31
Russian rights groups call for use of ketamine in animal surgery
MOSCOW. May 26 (Interfax) - The Federal Drug Control Agency should stop prosecuting veterinarians for using ketamine
as an anesthetic during surgery on animals, Russian rights groups say.
Speaking at a news conference in Moscow on Wednesday, Lev Ponomaryov, executive director of the movement For Human
Rights, said that criminal cases were opened last year against veterinarians who used ketamine during complicated
surgery on animals. Two of these criminal cases were thrown out due to a lack of evidence, he said.
In the meantime, the ban on the use of ketamine forces veterinarians to violate the law, Ponomaryov said.
Sergei Sereda, chairman of the Russian Association of Practicing Veterinarians, said the use of ketamine by
veterinarians is mandatory in serious surgery on animals. Ketamine is sold freely in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, but is
banned in Russia, he added. [RU EEU EUROPE ASIA EMRG] av aw <>
[Interfax] |
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