Recently I was deeply saddened and disturbed to learn that some classes offered here at Butler require students to dissect cats. As a cat owner, this really struck a nerve with me. The rat dissection I participated in while I was taking Anatomy and Physiology was bad enough, I probably would have dropped the class and changed my major if my instructor had opted for cat dissection. I felt that I had no choice when it came to the dissection. I could suck it up and do it or simply get a zero for the days we worked with the rats, which was a hit my grade couldn’t afford particularly in a class with very few opportunities to earn points.
While I do see the value of hands on experience with actual tissue for those going on into the medical field, there are human cadavers available for this practice. Human cadavers come from people that have died from natural causes and have made the choice to donate their bodies to science. The animals used for dissection do not have this choice. Even though it has long been a rite of passage for biology students in both high school and at the college level to dissect worms, frogs, sheep eyeballs, and even fetal pigs among other animals for the sake of learning this practice is outdated, inhumane, and often leaves students having to choose between their grades and personal beliefs—much like I had to. According to Jan Oakley of Lakehead University in Canada for an article in Society and Animals, there has been documentation of students objecting to animal dissection for close to 30 years. Both Oakley’s article and the Humane Society concur since students have made their voices heard, several states and countries have either banned dissection or allow students to be conscientious objectors without penalty and provided alternative assignments. These alternative assignments include three dimensional models, videos, and computer simulations have been around since the early 1990s. With vegetarian and vegan lifestyles gaining momentum, it’s time Butler joined the 21st century on this matter and adopted a more humane, ethical, and state of the art approach when it comes to learning.
-Jessica