Cal Community High Welcomes Compassionate Teaching Tools to Save Animals' Lives and Better Educate Students
For Immediate Release:
April 19, 2011
Contact:
Robbyn Brooks 202-483-7382
Latimer, Iowa — After learning from PETA about the educational superiority and cost-effectiveness of modern alternatives to dissection, Cal Community High School has decided to replace cat dissection in its biology classes with an interactive computer simulator. To support this compassionate decision, PETA is donating to the school the comprehensive CatWorks virtual dissection program from ScienceWorks. CatWorks allows students to "cut" using a digital scalpel and offers real-life schematics, quizzes, lab practicals, and interactive dissection.
"We're delighted to help Cal Community High School take the lead in teaching biology with humane, modern and effective teaching methods," says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo. "At less progressive schools, cats, frogs, pigs, and other animals suffer and die for dissection even though non-animal methods for teaching biology have proved to be superior."
The millions of animals who are used in school dissections come from biological supply houses, which breed some animals and obtain others from animal dealers or the wild. Cats used for dissection are most often animals—including lost companion animals—who are sold by shelters to these supply companies.
Comparative studies have repeatedly shown that non-animal teaching methods such as interactive computer programs are more effective at teaching biology than crude animal dissections. They also save time and money, increase student confidence and satisfaction, and help create an inclusive learning environment that does not risk traumatizing and alienating the many students opposed to harming animals. The National Science Teachers Association endorses the use of modern non-animal methods as replacements for animal dissection.
The school's letter to PETA is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org/dissection or TeachKind.org.