Please enjoy this article from the latest issue of our magazine, PETA Global. To begin your subscription, become a PETA member today!
I have a dirty little secret: I was assigned to chloroform the mice for a school dissection lesson, and even though I found it disturbing, I did it anyway. That was 60 years ago, when the Earth was still cooling down and no one dared talk back to the teacher for fear of being smacked. Dissection desensitizes students, by sending the harmful message that living beings are nothing more than disposable tools. But times have changed, so what are we doing still pretending it’s OK for “life science” to spell death for animals?
How come millions of frogs, mice, rats, rabbits, fish, and other living beings are still snatched from their homes in nature or purposely bred every year so that students can take scissors to them or pull out and dangle their beating hearts in each other’s faces? PETA took a hard look at school dissection and found information that would have been shocking when I was a child–and is beyond shameful now.
PETA managed to get a hidden video camera into a major dissection supplier’s warehouse, where staff joked about watching frozen turtles “come back to life” and then refreezing them. The workers were also caught on tape drowning crates of frightened pigeons in a tank full of water so that their bodies could be sold to schools.
PETA is determined to relegate dissection to the dustbin of history. Here’s how.
On the Cutting Edge
Kids don’t dissect animals anymore in Argentina, Israel, the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic, or Switzerland, among other places. Schools in the UK and Australia don’t require students under 18 to cut up dead animals, but many teachers still ask them to. Many US states have laws allowing students to opt out of dissection, but with animals’ lives on the line, that isn’t enough.
It’s a No-Brainer: Computers Eclipse Cadavers
Obviously, non-animal teaching methods, such as three-dimensional computer simulations, spare animals tremendous suffering and death, but they have also been shown to be as effective as – and often more effective than – cutting up dead animals. Studies show that students prefer using humane methods and that dissecting animals deters some of them–especially young women–from entering science-related fields. We can’t have that!
There’s Carcinogens in Them Thar Bones
Dissection exposes students and educators to harmful chemicals, including formaldehyde – a preservative classified as a human carcinogen. Repeated exposure to even low levels of this chemical can cause respiratory difficulty, eczema, and skin sensitization.
Simulation Is the New Gold Standard
Simulation technology has replaced dissection as the best practice: No medical students in the US, Canada, or India participate in animal dissection as part of their curriculum. Primary schools must catch up.
Take Action Now
Help PETA relegate dissection to the dustbin of history.
• Students: Say no to dissection. PETA can help you work with your teacher to give you a non-animal lesson. E-mail [email protected].
• Parents: If your child’s school is using animals as teaching “tools,” voice your objections. Let your child’s teacher and principal know that your child will not be participating, and urge the school to replace animal dissection with superior, modern teaching tools.
• Teachers: Please don’t use animals in your classroom. Browse TeachKind.org/Dissection for helpful information, free resources, and more. In the UK or Australia, please visit PETA.org.uk/CutOutDissection for an informational pack with interactive and practical activities and free resources.
