Dissection & live animals in education |
Each year, millions of frogs, rats, cats, mice, and other animals suffer and are killed for dissection. Pedagogical Studies consistently prove that students who use alternative methods to dissection learn as well or better than students who use animals. The psychological impact on students should also concern educators. And Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine's Dissection Alternatives web site provides many more reasons not to dissect including a cost analysis revealing the significant savings by using non animal materials. To become fully informed, read all of the information provided by PCRM. PCRM also provides a list of alternative materials and the Humane Society of the United States will loan alternative materials to schools through their Humane Education Loan Program (HELP) and New England Anti-Vivisection Society provides links to many online dissection sites. The United Federation of Teachers developed a 4-8 week unit "Alternatives to Dissection in Biology Education" to encourage a greater respect for the intrinsic value and worth of animals. See also their "Research the Advances Human Health Without Harming Animals","Award Winning Student Projects" and "Projects in Progress." Dissection Law Students have successfully brought about change in state dissection laws and local school policy. Jennifer Routh, a New York college student, argued in 1990 that the requirement violated her First Amendment right to exercise her moral and religious beliefs. As a result, any student expressing a moral or religious objection to the performance of or witnessing of the dissection of animals must be provided with an alternative project. Such objection must be put into writing by the student's parent or legal guardian. To view the law regarding dissection in New York, click here and turn to page three, item four. HEART (Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers) provides the text of the laws in other states about the humane study, treatment and care of animals in school settings. Visit Cut Out Dissection for a sample objection letter. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter." - Martin Luther King Jr. About Conscientious Objection: The following resources are very helpful:
In spite of the mounting research in favor of dissection alternatives, National Science Teachers Association "calls for more research to determine the effectiveness of animal dissection activities and alternatives and the extent to which these activities should be integrated into the science curriculum." Yet the National Science Education Standards envisions changes in teaching, asking that educators "display and demand respect for the diverse ideas, skills and experiences of all students" and be responsive to student needs. Study and Care of Live Animals New York education law provides guidelines for the study, treatment and care of live animals in the classroom. Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers provides the text of the laws from other states regarding the same. And please read Animals in the Classroom: Lessons in Disrespect and Classroom Critters: To Be or Not to Be? about live animals in the classroom. "By and large students are taught that it is ethically acceptable to perpetrate, in the name of science, what from the point of view of the animals would certainly qualify as torture. By the time [the students] arrive in the labs they have been programmed to accept the suffering around them." ~ Jane Goodall, PhD, Through a Window: My 30 Years With the Chimpanzees in Gombe. ©2007-2009 Humane Education Teacher |
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