Why dissection animal use in education

In many cases they are not properly cared for. As a result, their lives are usually short. In addition to the harm caused to the animals used in classrooms, there are other ways these practices affect animals. As a result, people with more concern for animals are discouraged from working in fields in which animal dissection and experimentation are common, which slows down the development of animal-friendly paradigms in these disciplines. This is especially true for women, a greater percentage of whom reject practices that use animals.

Furthermore, teachers can have a tremendous influence on the attitudes of students. In fact, even if teachers do not comment on their own practices, they still spread this idea, because the students see animals treated as mere things used by humans at will.

Teachers who support dissection often defend the practice by arguing that learning without real animals is not the same. These claims are backed by the companies that sell animals for dissection and as laboratory tools in other areas. Many countries that have large education budgets and are known for the quality of their student training like Scandinavian countries do not use animals in their education.

However, the heart of the matter lies in whether it is acceptable to use animals for this purpose. It is never considered acceptable to use humans in order to study human anatomy and physiology even though it is generally acknowledged that this would be the best way to do it. If we do not maintain a speciesist position , we cannot hold the view that it is unacceptable to use humans yet acceptable to use nonhuman animals in this way. It is very common for the animals used in classrooms to be captured in the wild, though they can also be bought from breeders.

There are companies that are dedicated specifically to the mass breeding and raising of animals for this purpose, to capturing them, to acquiring them from smaller dealers, to purchasing or collecting unwanted animals, and to distributing them.

Animals who are captured suffer terribly before they are killed. Frogs, for example, are often stacked by the dozen in sacks where they can remain for more than a week without food, only being hydrated with water that is thrown in from time to time. Many animals who do not die in this way or during capture may be killed by means of chemicals or alcohol, which can cause up to 20 minutes of suffering before death. Sometimes educational institutions themselves breed animals in vivariums or animal houses.

Sometimes so many are bred and raised that most are ultimately not used in the experiments. Cats and dogs may be obtained from kennels. In certain places including areas in the United Sates , public institutions or organizations that receive public assistance have a legal obligation to provide animals to laboratories and other institutions that want to use animals as lab tools.

Pig fetuses are ripped from the wombs of pregnant sows after their slaughter. However, even if as in these cases the animals are not killed solely for the purpose of educational or laboratory uses, but by other forms of animal exploitation such as animal agriculture, the fact is that by using their bodies, one is supporting the exploitation of these animals.

The same is true when it comes to obtaining animal parts such as cow eyes, sheep brains or pig hearts. They can be purchased at a butcher shop, supermarkets or directly from slaughterhouses.

Buying animal parts gives money to an animal exploitation industry, and drives the continued exploitation of animals. Conscientious objection consists of not wanting to carry out a certain practice for ethical reasons.

This is increasingly common in places where work experience with animals is required. There are still teachers who see the practice of conscientious objection as a challenge to their authority. This need not be the case at all, but such a belief may predispose these teachers against conscientious objection. Even if there is a right to object and formal sanctions are not imposed on the student, teachers can still punish students by ridiculing them in class.

Students who do not want to participate in animal harming experiments can also face more serious problems. There have been cases where students have been taken to court to obligate them to perform experiments. Fortunately, there is a growing acceptance of conscientious objection as a perfectly valid ethical option. Pressures against conscientious objection, including informal ones, are increasingly seen as unacceptable.

More and more places are legally recognizing the right to conscientious objection. In the United States today there are 16 states in which the right to conscientious objection is recognized.

There is also more and more awareness and consideration on the part of teachers towards students who object to performing animal experiments, as well as a greater willingness to abandon these experiments. In addition, the fact that more and more methods to study animal anatomy and physiology do not require the use of live animals will lead to a gradual decrease in their use. In the U. One current method for learning animal anatomy and physiology without performing dissections uses high quality graphics with photographs and microphotographs which show the anatomy of animals in maximum detail.

Another is the use of vinyl model bullfrogs, with great detail in the various appendages and organs and even the structure of the organs. One reason software and inanimate models have begun to replace live animals is that they provide great savings for educational centers since they do not require having to buy animals for each student for course after course.

Upper-division undergraduates and up. Libraries Unlimited. Need Help? Try our Search Tips. Award Winner. Reviewed Content. Available for Course Adoption. Features The volume includes information on the many organizations who supply relevant information and materials on dissection and teaching resources.

Databases and other specialized websites offered here simplify the effort required for teachers to identify promising resources and those that will become available in the future. Highlights Why Dissection? Educational testing, national and state educational standards, and the place of dissections Legislation and regulations related to the use of animals and dissection in teaching The animal used in teaching. Tilstone, Kathleen A.

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