What You Might Not Know

Testimonies

Students Benefit from a Dissection-free Education

It is possible to teach biology and practice veterinary medicine -- without learning these skills through dissection, as the following testimony shows.

"The dictum to which all medical practitioners are supposed to adhere is primum non nocere—first do no harm. How could my surgery and physiology lab possibly have exemplified this principle? I have no hesitation in stating that I learned nothing helpful from those labs that could not have been taught in a more humane manner." (Read more)
—Holly Cheever, DVM

Hazards & Harms

Disposal of Toxic Waste
Millions of formaldehyde-laden specimens must be disposed of every year. Formaldehyde is a "reasonably anticipated" carcinogen in humans. "Teachers and students who handle preserved specimens represent potential high exposure groups." (Department of Health and Human Service's National Toxicity Program's Eighth Report on Carcinogens)

Depletion of Organisms from Natural Habitats
The number of animals killed and preserved for dissection labs each year can only be estimated. The Humane Society of the United States gives a conservative approximation of 6 million vertebrates used in high school dissections alone. Frogs, turtles, snakes, fish (usually perch) and dogfish sharks are among the wild-caught species.

Frogs & Turtles
Many species of amphibians and reptiles are declining at an alarming rate; some are nearing extinction. The Connecticut bog turtle has been proposed as a candidate for the state endangered list, and the red-eared slider turtle – one of the most commonly used classroom specimens – has been proposed for inclusion in Appendix II of the CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora) list by the International Wildlife Coalition.

Over-collection of frogs and turtles has been identified as a major contributing factor to the decline. Moreover, collection exacerbates the other pressures on these species as the ecosystems supporting them deteriorate.

What You Might Not Know

• The Environment and Dissection
  
  
• Specimen Acquisition
  
  
• Frog Fact Sheet
  
  
• Turtle Fact Sheet

Read MORE about how your support saves animal and human lives.


The State of the Anti-Vivisection Movement in America