Cutting Class
No law in Australia can force you to cut up animals at school, so don't take part
very year in Australia, millions of animals are bred and killed in schools, colleges and universities.
Rats, mice, cats, dogs, pigs, chickens, frogs, toads and fish are the most common victims.
Most are killed and cut apart (dissected), while others are cut apart while still alive (vivisected), or used in experiments that involves harm and death.
In 2003-2004, 6,489,005 animals were used in research and teaching in Australia
These are completely unnecessary deaths, and studies show that students learn just as well without dissection:
- “Students either dissected 4 different species of animal, or saw films of the dissections. The film group had better results on a test of anatomy knowledge. There was no difference between the 2 groups in terms of skill in using a scalpel.” (1)
- “In two different studies, one group dissected a frog while the other group studied frog dissection on an interactive videodisc. There was no difference in factual knowledge between the two groups in either study.” (2)
- “Students in 5 schools were taught frog structure, function and adaptation either through lectures or dissection. The lecture groups improved more in the course of the study than the dissection groups.” (3)
- “In first year at the University of Glasgow around 1 in 8 students opt out of dissection and study anatomy with models instead. These students perform just as well on the final exam, even on questions relating to the dissections.” (4)
Classroom dissection desensitises students to violence, torture and animal abuse
Jeffrey Dahmer - every one starts somewhere
American serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer attributed his fascination with murder and mutilation to classroom dissections. In the last interview before his death, televised on Dateline NBC, Dahmer stated, “In ninth grade biology class, we had the usual dissection of fetal pigs. I took home the skeleton. Started branching out with dogs, cats – I suppose it could have turned into a normal hobby like taxidermy, but instead it became this. I don’t know why. It became a compulsion.” (Stone Phillips, interview with Jeffery Dahmer, Dateline NBC 29 Nov. 1994.)
Barbara Orlans speaks out
And Barbara Orlans, who teaches Anatomy and Physiology at Georgetown University in Washington DC (USA), thinks that dissection makes students less sensitive to animal suffering. She says:
“Heavy exposure to dissection can harden attitudes toward animal suffering and foster disrespect for animal life. The killing of millions of animals each year for teenagers' education fosters the impression that animal life is cheap. In times when we are struggling to reduce violence in our society, the practice of harming and killing sentient creatures to conduct an "educational exercise" seems out of place.” (Orlans B, "The case against dissection", The Science Teacher , 1991, vol 58 [12-14].)
Bad for the environment
The 6,400,000+ animals raised for dissection are living creatures meaning that naturally they do shit, eat and reproduce which provides a huge burden on our environment if we are raising this many animals to simply dispose of for a classroom experiment. Alternatives to dissection are long lasting, animal friendly and environmentally sustainable.
Bad for your back pocket
Animals used in dissection can only be cut apart once which provides economic drain, compared to the alternatives such as DVDs which can be used multiple times for the same purpose. These animals are treated as mere expenses in the classroom whereas an alternative will provide a long-term asset to the institution.
What you can do
Boycott dissection
Find out early in your course whether any dissection is planned. If it is, approach your teacher well before the due date. Getting an alternative will be impossible if you leave it to the last minute!
Fight for an alternative and encourage others not to participate
Contact us for our anti-dissection flyers and posters, and follow the steps to boycotting dissection and establishing an alternative assignment at your school – and that does NOT mean simply watching others cut up dead animals!
Write to your teacher, principal and/or school board
State your position on dissection (that you’re morally against it) and request a non-animal alternative. Give some suggestions of alternatives you could use, such as the ones available for loan from the Australian Association for Humane Research. If your teachers still insist you must cut up a dead animal, contact Australian Lawyers For Animals – legally, you are not required to dissect any animal during any school or university course in Australia, and a simple phone call from an attorney can remind your school of that.
Set up an information table at your school
Having other students insist on a humane alternative can help your cause. Set up an information table at your school to hand out our leaflets, stickers and fact sheets on dissection, and get as many people as possible to sign our petition to boycott dissection. Send copies of the petition to your principal, the school board, and your school and local newspapers (and of course to us!). The less people killing animals the better!
Get a student choice policy in place at your school
A student choice policy means that any student in the future will be presented with the choice of dissecting or using the alternative assignment – they will never be told they “have” to dissect, and alternatives will be arranged by the teacher, not the student. It means no student will ever be penalised for choosing not to cut up dead animals, and students will not have to witness any dissection. Wouldn’t it be so much easier if every school had this? Email us for a sample student choice policy you could use to present to your principal and school board.
References
- Fowler H & Brosius E, “A research study on the values gained from dissection of animals in secondary school biology”, Science Education , 1968, vol 52 (55-57)
- Kinzie M, Strauss R & Foss J, "The effects of an interactive dissection simulation on the performance and achievement of high school biology students", Journal of Research in Science Teaching , 1993, vol 30 (989-1000) and Strauss R & Kinzie M, "Student achievement and attitudes in a pilot study comparing an interactive videodisc simulation to conventional dissection", The American Biology Teacher , 1994, vol 56 (398-402)
- McCollum T, "The effect of animal dissections on student acquisition of knowledge of and attitudes toward the animals dissected", Dissertation Abstracts , 1988, vol 48 (2592-A)
- Downie R & Meadows J, "Experience with a dissection opt-out scheme in university level biology", Journal of Biological Education , 1995, vol 29 (187-194)