Aim: The study aims to determine and compare the views of medicalschool and engineeringschool students about the killing of animals for various reasons and ways.

Materials and Methods: The data evaluated were obtained from 274 students attending Cumhuriyet University. The questionnaire used in the study was developed by the researchers. The most common 11 reasons for killing animals are listed. The participants were asked to arrange them from the one they considered the least appropriate to the one they considered the most appropriate and to score them ranging from 1 to 10, respectively. Descriptive assessments of the two groups were performed. The difference between the mean scores of the students was assessed with the chi-square test, t-test and Mann-Whitney- U.

Results: The highest mean scores are as follows: sacrificing an animal due to religious beliefs (8.68), slaughtering domestic livestock for food (8.35), and practicing euthanasia on an animal suffering due to health problems (7.60). The lowest mean score was obtained from the questionnaire was for the item that an animal is killed for its fur or hide (2.84). Medical students(7.93) agreed to the killing of experimental animals in a laboratory setting for the training of students in medicine or other areas more than did the engineering students (6.84, p=0.009).

Conclusions: Acceptability of an animal killing practice among the participants increases with its utility and decreases with its cruelty.