More and more students from elementary school to veterinary and medical school—are taking a stand against dissection before it happens in their classes.
Cut It Out!
Hearing a lot about violence in schools? You can do something to help: Cut out dissection! Every year, millions of animals—frogs, cats, mice, dogs, and others—are violently killed and shipped off to schools, where young people are given scalpels and told to slice up the animals’ bodies as part of biology, anatomy, and other courses.
What do dissections teach? Not much … except that it’s OK to chop up animals. In California, investigators brought up the possible connection between a series of cat mutilations and the cat dissections at the local high school. That wouldn’t surprise us: In his last interview before his death, Jeffrey Dahmer said that he became fascinated with blood and guts when his school gave him a knife and a dead animal to cut apart in biology class.
What happens to the animals before the schools place their orders for bodies? PETA did undercover investigations at biological supply companies, which sell animal bodies and parts, and found nightmarish acts of animal cruelty, including the drowning of rabbits and embalming of cats while they were still alive. Check it out for yourself in this video. Schools that purchase animal bodies for dissection are paying for animals to be tortured and killed. It’s that simple.
You can also read more about dissection in PETA’s "Guide to Animals and the Dissection Industry."
It’s disgusting, it’s wrong, and it’s time for it to end. And now you are ready to fight dissection!
It’s easy, and you have the right. Thousands of students have done it, and you can, too. You may be the first person at your school to refuse—so do it! Express yourself and be a trend-setter, trail-blazer, and animal hero.
Check out what David Gallagher has to say about dissection on PETA TV.
If you're in grades K-12 and attend public school in the following states, just say "No!": California, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia. These states, as well as school districts in Austin, Texas, and Columbus, Ohio, have dissection choice laws or policies in place. Private schools, colleges, and universities are not covered by those laws, but you can still get an alternative. You’ve just got to ask for it the right way (see number 2 below).
For Canadian students, your right to refuse to dissect is protected under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Currently, Nova Scotia's South Shore and Vancouver, British Columbia, are the only locations in Canada that have passed student choice policies, though presently, school boards in Kelowna and Westbank, British Columbia, and Toronto are being encouraged to pass student choice policies as well. Please visit FrogsAreCool.com for more information including details of the policies currently in place.
You don’t let anyone tell you what to do, so what if your class requires dissection?
1. Find out as early as possible—preferably a few months before the course—what they say you have to do. Investigate: Find out what animals the school uses and who supplies them. You’ll be so angry that you’ll most likely not only exercise your right to refuse to dissect, but also demand that the class stop using animals entirely!
2. Meet with the instructor right away and tell him or her that you cannot participate in the dissection because of your "sincerely held religious and moral beliefs about the sanctity of all life," and ask for a non-animal alternative. These words provide the basis for a possible legal case. (You do not have to support any formal religion; the courts have interpreted a belief that animals should not be killed for classroom dissection to be a religious belief, which schools cannot violate.) Do not offer a detailed explanation, and don’t get into an argument or try to defend your beliefs—you don’t have to. State your position in writing, be calm and polite, and ask for a prompt response. Make it clear that observing other students dissect an animal isn’t an acceptable alternative—it’s indirect participation in the dissection. Keep copies of all correspondence and detailed notes of conversations; take notes during any meetings.
3. Dissection has got to go. It was first introduced into schools in the early part of the last century, and there are now way more advanced ways to learn. Offer to research the alternatives and find those that satisfy the objectives of the course. Show that you’re willing to spend an equivalent amount of time and effort learning the lesson using a humane alternative. A number of organizations loan alternatives, including CD-ROM’s and virtual dissections, to students and schools. The following organizations have extensive lending libraries and will be glad to help you find a suitable alternative and provide you with additional information and suggestions:
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
301-258-3046
National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS)
800-888-6287
American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS)
800-729-2287
Ethical Science Education Coalition (ESEC) (The educational branch of the New England Anti-Vivisection Society)
617-523-6020
"Alternatives in Education Database" (Allows keyword searches to identify a wide variety of alternatives)
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (Factsheets)
Animals in Higher Education:
Problems, Alternatives and Recommendations
by Jonathan Balcombe, Ph.D. (An in-depth overview of the entire issue)
4. If you’re still told, "Dissect or fail," proceed up the chain of command. If you’re in pre-college (kindergarten through 12th grade) write to the principal, then the superintendent, and the school board. Ask your parents or guardians to write on your behalf. If you’re in college, write to the department head, then to the dean, and finally to the president.
5. If school officials still think they can violate your rights, try contacting an attorney for assistance. These cases don’t always need to go to court; they can often be settled with just a simple phone call from an attorney. To find an attorney in your area, try doing an online search using one of the services listed below. You can also try calling the service’s toll-free number, but conducting an online search may be more effective:
American Bar Association Lawyer Referral Service
541 N. Fairbanks Ct.
Chicago, IL 60611
1-800-285-2221
Lawyers.com*
1-800-526-4902, ext. 5095
salesdev@martindale.com
*Note: This Internet referral service is owned and operated by Martindale-Hubbell. Even though “animal law” is not one of the choices listed, you can type “animal” in the “Legal Term” field to find attorneys who specialize in animal law.
6. Let other students and the community know how the school violates students’ rights and hurts animals. Get everyone on your side! Form a group to demand students’ right to a violence-free education. Write letters to the editor of the school and local newspapers. Contact the campus radio station. Meet with the editorial board of the campus newspaper and ask them to editorialize in favor of students’ right to choose humane alternatives to dissection. Ask the student government to pass a resolution supporting your efforts. Circulate petitions among students, and gather signatures of support. Hold vigils and demonstrations and alert the media about your events (contact PETA for help). For more information about activism, click here.
You can always call PETA for help with your dissection dilemma. We can send you literature and videos, psych you up, and use some PETA know-how and muscle to get your school to see things straight! Call 757-622-7382 to speak to a PETA rep today.
Sample letters:
Letter to instructor (adapt to fit your situation):
|
Date
Name of Instructor
Dept. Name
School Name
Address
Dear ______:
I am enrolled in [name of class]. I have just learned that all students are required to participate in the dissection of a frog. I will be unable to participate in the dissection because of my sincerely held religious and moral beliefs about the sanctity of all life.
Accordingly, I respectfully request that you provide me with an alternative that will not involve my direct or indirect participation in the dissection of any animal that has been killed for the purpose of a classroom dissection or at a slaughterhouse.
I would appreciate hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
Sincerely,
(Your signature)
Your name
|
Letter to the editor of your local paper (adapt for your situation)
|
Date
Letters to the Editor
Name of Newspaper
Address
Dear Editor:
Animal dissection, which was first used in classrooms in the early part of last century, is still being used in some [name of school] classes. In recent years, dissection has been increasingly scrutinized. Experts have reevaluated the educational worth and morality of cutting up animals to "see how they work."
Compassionate students want to study biology without dissecting animals. Sophisticated computer simulations, videodiscs, and models have been developed to meet the needs of these students. All the studies of this issue show that students who use alternatives perform as well or better than students who use dissection.
Biology is the study of life and should teach respect for life, not devalue it by treating living beings as disposable objects. By using humane teaching methods, instructors can teach science and ethics simultaneously.
Sincerely,
(Your signature)
Your name
Daytime phone number
|
Sample Student Choice Policy
1. Alternatives to dissection must be available in all classes for students who choose not to dissect.
2. The responsibility for creating an alternative lies with the teacher, not the student.
3. Requiring the student to watch others dissect an animal is not an alternative; the student must be allowed to leave the room while the dissection is taking place.
4. Students will not be penalized or ostracized in any way for choosing the alternative exercise.
5. A student’s choice to dissect or not to dissect shall be respected by all school faculty, and the student shall be treated in a nonjudgmental manner. A student must feel free to choose an alternative to dissection without fear of being singled out or pressured.
6. All students must be informed in writing of their option to choose not to dissect at the beginning of each semester during which dissection is scheduled, a minimum of three weeks prior to the dissection.
7. Those instructors that still teach dissection in their classes must verbally announce the policy to all students on the first day of the semester and on the day of the dissection.
How to Answer Common Arguments Against Alternatives
to Dissection
You’re just being squeamish.
Feeling that dissection is wrong has nothing to do with being afraid or squeamish; for many students, it is a violation of deeply held principles. It is also OK to feel squeamish about doing something you find morally offensive.
If we make an exception for you, other students will claim that they have the right to be excluded from all sorts of requirements.
This doesn’t address the issue at hand: the students’ right not to be forced to violate their beliefs as part of their education. There’s no quota on how many people are allowed to exercise their rights, and you can’t take away rights just because a lot of people are exercising them.
Students aren’t qualified to determine whether or not dissection is a necessary part of the curriculum.
Students are entitled to speak up when asked to do something that violates their ethics. If they are "qualified" enough to participate, they are "qualified" enough to decide whether they object to participation.
Dissection wouldn’t be taught if it weren’t an important part of the curriculum.
Teaching techniques are constantly evolving and should be reevaluated regularly. Countless students are educated every year at top schools without dissecting animals.
There is no substitute for hands-on experience.
Actually, there are many substitutes for hands-on experience. But using detailed models of animal anatomy and computer simulations both provide hands-on experience.
There are no suitable alternatives.
The Alternatives in Education Database, from the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights, and the Norwegian Inventory of Audiovisuals (NORINA) contain thousands of alternatives to animal use in education. (Most instructors who use this argument haven’t considered any particular alternatives, so ask which specific alternatives the professor has considered and rejected and why.)
The student’s claim to be a conscientious objector is inconsistent; he/she eats meat, wears leather, eats dairy products, etc.
Religious freedom means that you can subscribe to any set of views. Sadly, there are plenty of meat-eating Hindus, but they are Hindus nonetheless and cannot be forced to do something else that they believe is forbidden by their religion. If a student believes that it is immoral to wear fur or dissect animals but OK to wear leather shoes, no one can dictate a different set of moral values to that student. Everyone has the right to draw the line where their conscience tells them to.
The school doesn’t have enough money in its budget to purchase alternatives.
Many groups make alternatives available on loan to students who need them. And alternatives to dissection are more economical over time; many students can make use of one CD-ROM, for instance, but dissection requires that multiple animals be purchased time after time.
