Photo credit: Kelly Garbato
In a 7th grade life sciences class I dissected a frog. It is one of only two memories I hold from that class. I can still recall the smell of formaldehyde, the rubbery stiffness of the frog’s skin, and the giant fly in its belly. I never asked where the frogs came from or how they died.
“Luckily, I grew out of my brooding apathy and did start to question the status quo. If I were faced with a dissection assignment today, I would enthusiastically opt out.”
Unfortunately, I was not a very critical or a particularly enthusiastic student in middle school. One girl in my class did opt out of the dissection, but apathetic pre-teen that I was, I never asked her why she might be opposed to what I considered at the time, by far, the most engaging lesson of the entire course. Luckily, I grew out of my brooding apathy and did start to question the status quo. If I were faced with a dissection assignment today, I would enthusiastically opt out. Here’s why:
- Animal welfare. Currently, students dissect three vertebrates in biology courses at UBCO: a cat, a rat, and a perch, in addition to invertebrates such as clams, mussels and squid. Euthanized cats from shelters are acquired by Carolina Biological Supply Company and are sold to UBC (although, CBSC refuses to disclose exactly where the cats come from). Due to the sheer number of cats and dogs that are euthanized every year (SPAY AND NEUTER YOUR PETS, Y’ALL), many shelters use inhumane gas chambers which prolong death and suffering. In some instances, multiple cats and small dogs are crammed into a small space and gassed together causing severe stress, pain, and suffering. Rats and perches are “cultured” by the supply companies themselves, which is a euphemism for breeding animals specifically to be killed and preserved for classroom dissection. These animals are raised in warehouses in abysmal conditions while they wait to be killed and dipped in formaldehyde until dissection day. These conditions are not exceptions, but standard practice.
- Speaking of formaldehyde, that shit is disgusting. Formaldehyde is used to preserve the animals after their death. It is linked to several types of cancer and classified as a human carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (you can read a fact sheet of the studies at www.cancer.gov). Carolina Biological Supply (where UBCO obtains their preserved animals) uses a “perfect solution” which claims to be nontoxic, but still contains formaldehyde. The health risks are linked to long-term exposure, but by participating in a practice that relies on the use of harmful chemicals, you are perpetuating the use of those chemicals and contributing to their circulation—putting others at risk.
- Alternatives are available. Several studies show that computer simulations and life-like 3D models are as effective at teaching curricular learning outcomes. They are also more cost-effective for the university since they are reusable. Furthermore, there are many dissection alternative loan programs such as those hosted by Ethical Science Education Coalition and the International Network for Humane Education. Even Carolina Biological Supply Company sells several alternatives such as BioLab computer simulators and 3D models. THE FUTURE IS HERE!
“But, Juawana! Nothing replaces the experience of dissecting a once-living animal.” Dudes, I know. Alas, some folks just don’t wanna take the lives of others for the “sense of discovery and wonder” that comes with handling a real dead cat. Should those folks avoid biology altogether because they aren’t interested in participating in that one assignment? Nope! Biology is important and is so much more than seeing what that frog had for dinner before it made it to your dissection table. In fact, I encourage more of you non-biology majors who are looking to fulfill that mandatory science requirement with biology to ask for alternatives to the dissection assignment. The National Association of Biology Teachers, while encouraging animal use, also “encourages teachers to be approachable and responsive to substantive student objections to dissection and to provide appropriate lessons for those students.” Learning about innards and how they function is important, but if you can do it without taking a life, heck why not?!
“Ask your profs for alternative assignments and make a fuss.”
Currently, there is no official policy requiring alternatives to dissection at UBC, but there should be! Ask your profs for alternative assignments and make a fuss. Taking an ethical stance against the use of nonhuman animals when there are good alternatives available should not come with sanctions or cause students to avoid a subject altogether.