is it animal cruelty? Options

[CrimsonArchangel]

No, this is not about fur, or wool or anything like that.

Its about science. Many of you have had to dissect several creatures for bio class, most likely. Today I had to do the frog ringer lab, where a frog has its brain removed (is it really dead?) and then we have to dissect it and add chemicals to its heart to see what happens, then add a third one that will kill it.

Now I ask. Despite the fact that many of those animals are bred for that purpose, "to further science", should we use animals as dissection subjects? Or should we just make plastic models and the such?

Is it animal cruelty to breed animals for the purpose of being cut up by students just to learn?

[CrimsonArchangel]

Humans *are* used for dissection. I've done it already. The thing with them is that they agree to let their bodies be used for that purpose. They die naturally (or from whatever disease they have) and then their bodies are given to med schools to use for about a year, after which they are returned to whatever company they donated their bodies to to be cremated and given proper burial.

About animals being used to test medicines and what not, that is another debate topic. What I'm talking about is dissection. There are companies that breed frogs for the purpose of dissection. Is *that* animal cruelty? How about the cats used for anatomy. They come from shelters. They are literally the *excess* animals that were going to be euthanized anyway. Is *that* animal cruelty? The fetal pigs are by-products of pork eaters. They take the mothers and adult animals and kill them to be eaten and they sell the fetal pigs to be dissected. Is *that* animal cruelty?

I say all of this because I've looked around and I asked my professor, so I have back up for that info.