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?

[Spirited Away]

If it's so gruesome for high school students to use a human body, it would be as gruesome for some students to see a dead animal. *Raises hand*, that was me in high school. I knew kids who had notes from parents to excuse them from class to read the book rather than perform dissections. Problems at home prevented me from coming up with the same excused note they had.

So then, why can't those students, and students like me who had to grudgingly stay in class trying not to throw up, learn by looking at plastic models? We still learn something, right?

That way, I don't have to feel guilty dissecting a fetal pig and still learn something rather than nothing at all. It also lessens one fetal pig from being wasted.

[im2tall]

If it's so gruesome for high school students to use a human body, it would be as gruesome for some students to see a dead animal. *Raises hand*, that was me in high school. I knew kids who had notes from parents to excuse them from class to read the book rather than perform dissections. Problems at home prevented me from coming up with the same excused note they had. 

So then, why can't those students, and students like me who had to grudgingly stay in class trying not to throw up, learn by looking at plastic models? We still learn something, right?

That way, I don't have to feel guilty dissecting a fetal pig and still learn something rather than nothing at all. It also lessens one fetal pig from being wasted.

You are definately learning something... like I have said before, however, it's one thing to learn based on models and quite another to learn based on real animals. If you are not trying to become a doctor/surgeon, you can totally learn everything you need to know for your field, be it chemist, biologist, etc., by just looking at the models and learning from the textbooks. But if you are trying to become a doctor, you should be able to handle the gruesome image of dead or live animals being opened up. This can not be taught through textbooks...

I personally think that anatomy classes that have dissections give the students the kind of experience they need to make proper decisions for their future goals/aspirations. I've heard many people dropping out of med school, after all the hard studying and work, just because they couldn't handle human dissection. That's 4 yrs of college wasted...

WELL said.

I actually believe all you say. I started the topic just to hear from the other side.

One thing, however, there are dissections that are done in live animals. There is the whole frog's heart thing. The animal has its brain hacked off, and there is no point in seeing what chemicals do to the heart if its not beating, so its still alive.

Another one of my points is the fact that pre-med students in my school still have to dissect animals to learn anatomy. *That* I see no point in doing. Your point about high school students yadda yadda is perfectly plausible and I go for it 100%.

Thanks... .. I totally understand what you're trying to do.... it's always better to understand other people's point of view when you're trying to argue your point. I honestly think that people should challenge the conventional view, but at the same time, respect the conventional view. It's like religion... it's fine if you so strongly belive in something, as long as it helps you to make the right and good decisions... however it's not ok to force someone to believe in the same way... it's one thing to talk about it, but another when someone is trying to win the argument.
You do not need other people's approval to justify your opinion. So let's just get along hehe