Hi
I am in the exact same boat as you! Currently in my first year of uni studying Zoology and Animal Science, and I hope to be a vet. It was so distressing when I realised the vet course demands abattoir placements! After a lot of research, all I can tell you is that in Australia and the United Kingdom, abattoir placements are compulsory. In America they are not! There are many ethical colleges in the US that also don't do terminal surgeries - which is where they kill the dogs after performing surgery! - and one that particularly interested me was Tufts University, they were very ethical.
Obviously seems pretty crazy to study overseas just to avoid that - but I don't know whether I could handle it.
Anyway - if you are still interested in just Australian uni's, then I recommend Sydney over Melbourne. As Sydney don't do terminal surgeries.
At the end of the day, it's hard, but you will at one point have to do dissecting on an animal because you need to understand their biology and how to perform surgery - even medical students use cadavers. The best you can do is to find a uni that sources animals ethically - some uni's have dogs donated from loving families after they have passed for research.
Either way I'm defs following this thread and want to get as much information as you about it because I am just as upset about the idea!!!
Good luck x
