Animal Dissection In Schools

Dissection is a common practice among high schools in the biology class. With new technology arising, there has been many debates that have been presented looking at the pros and cons of such behaviour. Millions of animals are killed annually, there are little to no control measures in place, and animals suffer for the use of dissection among students.

In the United States, six million frogs are dissected annually in high schools. An additional amount is used in elementary and universities across the world. Jonathan Balcombe from the Human Society of the United States researched the topic and found out that one US biological supply company sells more than 170 different species of preserved animals annually.

There are few control measures
Animals are living creatures that should be treated with the same respect as do humans. Frogs are reported to be captured from their swamps, dogfish sharks are trapped in nets, and snakes, turtles and others are caught wildly. Fetal pigs are removed from pregnant sow who are later slaughtered for their meat. However, information regarding the operations of biological supply companies is very hard to obtain due to secrecy. In 1971, there was the first study published by the science journal, BioScience which showed the collection of frogs for dissection. The study investigated four major US biological supply companies. It displayed that frogs were kept in nylon mesh bags for a week for shipping with a total of a hundred tightly packed into each. The frogs suffered severe temperatures and dryness; resulting in fifteen percent of frogs being dead after shipping. Half the frogs were said to be dead after sorting and holding in pens of 30,000 frogs during the winter after shipping. The authors concluded that “nearly every step of the catching and shipping places serve stress on the frog.” It is said that behaviours have not changed since. Video footage was released in 1990 by an undercover investigation run by Carolina Biological Supply Company leaking many alarming images. Cats were being shoved into crowded gas chambers, crabs being injected with deadly chemicals, and rats struggling in facilities. In 1994, the World Society for the Protection of Animals investigated PARMEESA, a Mexican biological supply company. WSPA noted the drowning of thousands of cats, who were tied into cloth socks and put into the river. All of the cats were then shipped to the US for dissection in classrooms.

There are many cons to the use of animals for dissection however, there are many pros as well. Dissections provide a clear understanding that visual students cannot provide and it will give students a hands on feel