Alternatives to Dissection: Dissect with Compassion

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines biology as "a branch of knowledge that deals with living organisms and vital processes." Yet, biology courses often require students to perform animal dissections. Instead of studying life, students study death by completing assignments resulting in the destruction of millions of animals every year. Dissecting animals is quite contradictory to the biology discipline and should be banned in schools.

Before animals arrive in classrooms, the conditions in which they are found (stolen) or bred and killed are unethical. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine reported in Alternatives to Dissection that animals including frogs, cats, and turtles are supplied by breeding facilities, slaughterhouses, and animal dealers. Workers at biological supply companies are responsible for killing the animals. Frogs are submerged in a solution of water and alcohol, sometimes taking up to 20 minutes to die. Metal hooks are used to prod cats into gas chambers. Upon arrival at the biological supply company, turtles are often near death, hemorrhaging, paralyzed, or unable to properly breathe. Animals are being treated like objects rather than living, breathing, feeling beings.

According to the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), animal dissections executed in biology courses serve several purposes. Students make observations and comparisons. They learn to recognize similarities and differences amongst life forms. Lastly, the process of dissecting animals fosters an appreciation for life's intricacies. However, alternative instructional aids have proven to be more effective than animal dissections in helping students acquire science skills and learn about the anatomy of living creatures.

The Humane Society of the United States created a list of studies that compared the effectiveness of animal dissections versus alternative techniques. Of the thirty-five studies reviewed, only two reports found that students who followed traditional dissection methods scored higher when assessed. Eighteen studies indicated that both methods produced similar academic achievements. Fifteen studies found that students performed better using alternative aids. Besides overall academic success using alternative aids, these resources are easily accessible for schools and individuals.

Resources available are not only compassionate and successful teaching tools, but they are also cost effective because they do not need to be reordered every year. Digital Frog is a software program where students can "dissect" an animated frog, take quizzes, and watch movies. Frogs, crayfish, perch, rats, fetal pigs, and earthworms can be studied using programs created by Tangent Scientific DryLab. NeoTek offers software on several species along with a computer lab component. CD-ROMs on frog dissection are sold by ScienceWorks. If a school is unable to purchase materials, multiple groups loan alternatives. The organizations include The Ethical Science & Education Coalition, The American Anti-Vivisection Society, The National Anti-Vivisection Society, and The Humane Society of the United States. Using these compassionate dissection methods saves animals, reduces schools' expenditures, and allows for repetition.

Even with alternative methods proving significantly worthwhile, controversy ensues. Supporters of animal dissection generally believe students' learning is more meaningful from hands-on activities and that animal dissections are necessary for understanding and the future development of medical and scientific advancements. People in favor of cruelty-free techniques believe that alternative instructional methods are effective hands-on tools allowing for repetition essential to the learning process. Due to increased knowledge about animal suffering and availability of alternative instructional aids, more states are allowing students to opt out of traditional animal dissection assignments.

A request for alternative instructional aids must be made following specific guidelines. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) created a website just for kids with appropriate educational information about living a cruelty-free life. The 'Cut Out Dissection' page presents alternatives to dissecting and answers commonly asked questions regarding the debate. To request alternative instructional aids inform your instructor that due to "sincerely held religious and moral beliefs about the sanctity of all life" you will not be able to participate in the dissection assignment. Then, put that statement in writing and save all correspondence. If this approach is unsuccessful, either contact a school official with more authority or an attorney.

In addition to individual activism, students can present to either the Board of Education or the state Department of Education a Student Choice Policy. Passing a student choice policy, puts a procedure in place making alternative instructional aids readily available to teachers and students. The policy ensures that instructors, staff, administrators, students, and parents are privy to options other than animal dissection. During this process, students will advocate not only for their learning but also for compassion towards animals. Compassion for life is a great virtue for future biologists to possess. Ban animal dissection in schools and students will truly comprehend living organisms and the processes of life.