John Jay High School Students Should Be Taught Compassion for Animals, Says Group
For Immediate Release:
May 24, 2011
Contact:
Robbyn Brooks 202-483-7382
San Antonio — After receiving a disturbing report and photos from a distraught John Jay High School (JJHS) student who claims that another student stole a dead cat from a dissection laboratory and placed the cat's body on a student's car as a cruel joke, PETA sent an urgent letter to JJHS Principal Robert Harris calling on him to investigate the incident and prevent similar future occurrences by eliminating animal dissection at the school. Harris has confirmed that those responsible for the callous prank are being disciplined accordingly and that the school is currently considering PETA's offer to donate modern, computer-based anatomy software to replace cat dissection.
"This disturbing incident demonstrates what researchers have found—that exposing young people to animal dissection as 'science' can foster callousness toward animals," says PETA Vice President Kathy Guillermo. "We're very pleased that Principal Harris is considering our offer, and we hope that the school makes the right choice and puts an end to cat dissection."
A growing number of educators believe that dissection devalues life by reducing animals to mere "specimens" and "tools" to be used and disposed of. This callousness is also found in many violent criminals, who often have histories that include childhood cruelty to animals. Serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer openly attributed his fascination with mutilation and murder to classroom dissections. In fact, the FBI uses reports of cruelty to animals in analyzing the threat potential of suspected and known violent criminals.
Each year in the U.S., an estimated 10 million animals are killed for dissection. Many come from biological supply houses, which breed some animals and obtain others from the wild. These companies also purchase stray, lost, and abandoned cats from animal shelters or from "bunchers"—dealers who illicitly obtain animals from backyards and streets in the U.S. and Mexico.
For more information, please visit PETA.org/dissection.