By Sami Wilson
I understand that everyone in science class, at one point or another dissects their first frog. But a cat? Is there really a reason that a domesticated animal ends up on a lab table at a local high school?
You may think that I’m speaking as a someone who has no intention of pursuing a field in the sciences, but in actuality I’d like to be a nurse, and I just don’t believe a domesticated animal should be sacrificed for our use. Just to be sure, I’ve taken time to research to find out if my own concerns are justified and whether or not this practice is truly vital for high school students.
According to the nonprofit People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), “Cats used for dissection may be previously lost, stray, or homeless animals who have been injected with formaldehyde and vacuum-sealed in plastic bags for dissection.”
For all you know, this could be the lost cat on a poster you recently saw or a cat that had the misfortune of not being picked at an animal shelter. It could be the cat you would have ended up rescuing the very next day. The fact is, you will never know whether the cat on the table is one who could have been saved had another day gone by.
Some say that dissection attracts and assists those who are planning on pursuing the sciences, but for me, when learning about potential of dissecting a pig’s uterus, I began to lose interest in science rather than gain it. I wanted to find out if these were just my feelings or if others felt the same.
According to nonprofit ProCon — an organization owned by Britannica, “The inclusion of dissection units actually dissuades some students from taking elective science classes.”
As I too started to lose interest in science, I can understand the impact this has had on other students. It’s truly disappointing that a field that is so important could lose potential future scientists due to one experiment.
Some reading this may feel that animal dissection is vital for students who are considering a future in Biology or medicine, but according to the Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine, “animal dissection is not required for students to learn about and be engaged in science, and College Board (AP Biology) makes no mention of animal dissection.”
So, what next?
Actually, many organizations including the National Science Teachers Association approve the use of alternatives as replacements for animal dissection such as simulators and mannequins that are designed specifically for the activities that students partake in.
And in digging even deeper I found that thanks to the advocacy and efforts of The Physicians Committee to modernize medical student training that, “no medical schools in the U.S. or Canada use animals to train newly minted physicians.”
So, why in the world does a high school science class need to use domesticated animals when medical schools aren’t even using them and it’s not an AP Biology requirement either? I think it’s time that we ask ourselves why this necessary and what the benefits really are before one more cat is killed.
