Even though most students are repelled by the prospect of having to dissect animals, few have the courage to voice their opposition to it. In most cases this is due to the intimidation exerted by the teacher and school officials, which causes the student to fear a bad grade, the possibility of being ridiculed by teachers and classmates, and also the prospect of triggering their parents’ anger for making waves in school. But even a smaller number of students comes to realize the scientific fraud involved in the practice of dissection. This is quite understandable. The subtle conditioning to which all students are subjected from an early age does not leave room for doubt. Dissection is part of biology and biology is part of science. And if there is one thing you may not challenge, it is science. “Science,” “medical research,” and “technology” have become the untouchables of our time.

This pamphlet is intended to wake up students and others to the forgotten realities of true science, and give them the encouragement to resist and fight back the massive and relentless indoctrination (brainwashing) to which they are subjected on a daily basis. This massive effort of indoctrination is carried out not only by the industry-controlled media (television, radio, newspapers, and magazines) but also by the school districts whose fraudulent curricula are forced upon the captive audiences (students) in high schools and colleges all over the United States and in many other countries around the world. This counterfeit science, manufactured to fit the goals of the biomedical empire and its powerful allies, has replaced true science and is responsible for preventing students from acquiring a truly scientific education. Consequently, the educational system turns out doctors and researchers who, far from being interested or able to prevent and/or cure diseases, are responsible for the devastation to human health of which we are all victims: chemists, pharmacists, and all kinds of “scientists” bent on the mass-production and distribution of countless drugs and chemical products (poisons) as well as weapons that are killing both humans and other animals, and destroying the planet.

THE SCIENTIFIC FRAUD OF DISSECTION

The main goal of dissection is to make students believe that it is possible to understand human anatomy and physiology by dissecting all kinds of animals and animal parts. The almighty biomedical empire and its allies (a multi-trillion dollar coalition of medical, research, pharmaceutical, chemical, food, military, cosmetic, and tobacco corporations, all engaged directly or indirectly in massive amounts of animal experimentation) has a vested interest in making sure that citizens blindly support animal experimentation. The best way to accomplish this is to instill the foundations of vivisection into the minds of students at a very early age. This process begins with the dissection of animals in high schools and continues in colleges with animal vivisection.

COUNTERFEIT SCIENCE IN TEXTBOOKS

Even though school districts and science teachers may sometimes advance other reasons in order to justify the existence of dissection, the fact is that its main goal is to convince students at a very early age that animals are indispensable when it comes to understanding human anatomy and physiology. This forces teachers, professors, and school districts to make the most ridiculous, pseudo-scientific, and untenable statements. You do not have to take our word for this. This fundamental objective is clearly spelled out in practically all the currently used textbooks, as the following typical examples prove:

“Many of the structures, organs, and systems of the frog are similar to those of man, who is also a vertebrate.”

Photo Manual and Dissection Guide of the Frog, © 1982 by Fred Bohensky, Ph.D., The College of Staten Island, City University of New York.

“In many of the health-oriented science classes, such as those in the pre-nursing curriculum, human structures are taught without access to a human cadaver. Rats are a natural alternative. Their anatomy is similar to that of man, and in this book comparisons to man will be made throughout.”

Photo Manual and Dissection Guide of the Rat, ©1986 by Fred Bohensky, Ph.D., The College of Staten Island, City University of New York).

“Comparisons to the anatomy and physiology of man are made throughout. In most cases, the interest of the student, as well as the focus of the course, is upon man. The fetal pig is used because of its relative abundance, low cost, ease of storage, as well as its similarity to humans.”

Photo Manual and Dissection Guide of the Fetal Pig, ©1978 by Fred Bohensky, Ph.D., The College of Staten Island, City University of New York.

“Students of human anatomy in which a cadaver is not available or impractical, can use the mink as an interesting substitute.”

A Guide to the Dissection of the Mink, © 1971 by James S. Schlough, Associate Professor of Biology, Wisconsin State University, Whitewater.

“In most undergraduate colleges the use of human cadavers for dissection is not feasible, because it is difficult to obtain them and special facilities are needed for their storage. Instead the cat is often used, since it is anatomically very similar to the human, and it is less expensive and easier to store.”

Basic Anatomy, A Laboratory Manual by B. L. Allen, Ohio University, © 1987 by W. H. Freeman and Company.

If it weren’t such a serious matter, the preceding would be laughable. It is hard to imagine how a human being can be “similar” (a meaningless word in the world of true science) to a mink or a cat. But it is even harder to accept, no matter how gullible one may be, that a human being can be “similar” to frogs, cats, fetal pigs, rats, and mink all at the same time. The indisputable scientific fact is that it is impossible to extrapolate information from cats to dogs, or even from rats to mice, as the research community itself has been forced to admit.

The branch of anatomy that studies the minute structure of animal tissues is called histology. The body and organs of each species of animal are made of tissue and cells that are structurally different not only from humans, but also from each other’s. In other words, the cells that make up the body and organs of a cat are different from those of a dog, a rat, or a horse. This explains why it is impossible to understand what happens to human beings by cutting, burning, and/or injecting chemicals into the bodies and organs of animals who are made up of different cells. Obviously, different cells will react in different ways to these invasive procedures.

In many high schools and junior colleges students are forced to dissect cats in order to understand human musculature. The fact is that cats have muscles we do not even have. Cats are able to jump straight into the air up to ten times their own height. We do not know of any human being who is able to jump 50 or 60 feet into the air. Do you? It is clear that what allows the cat to jump so high is its own special skeletal structure and musculature. This does not mean that all quadrupeds are alike. The dog is also a quadruped, but he is unable to come even close to the agility displayed by the cat. Endless other comparisons between different species of animals could be made to prove this point.

We also know that the human being is the only animal that walks fully erect on two legs (biped). Most other animals used in dissection and vivisection are four-legged animals and amphibians. This simple fact affects drastically the cardiovascular system, the circulatory system, the respiratory system, and the nervous system.

STUDYING THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

Even though students in high schools are not being trained to become veterinarians or zoologists, it is possible that the science or biology teacher may be truly interested in teaching the students about the anatomical and physiological characteristics of the different species of animals when studying the animal kingdom. It should be obvious to anyone, however, that even in this situation dissection is useless and counter-productive. First of all, biology means the study of life, and one cannot study life by looking at death. An intelligent and caring teacher will do whatever it takes to spare his/her students the grotesque and macabre spectacle of dead and smelly animals who in most cases have undergone painful and horrifying deaths (hence the expression of horror on the animals’ faces). Such a traumatic experience often turns students off to the study of animals, and leaves a lasting impression that associates animals with unpleasant memories and death. The students are forced to handle the dead bodies and cut into them. When the student gets the animal or “preserved material,” it is already hard enough to distinguish between a bone, an artery, and a muscle. By the time the student has mangled the animal’s body with the razor blade or scalpel, identifying the different parts of the animal’s body becomes an impossibility. In addition, the animals are preserved in chemical solutions which are extremely hazardous, and even carcinogenic, thus endangering the health of the students.

It is in this kind of situation (studying animal anatomy and physiology) that the use of films, pictures, books, kits, charts, transparencies, and computers makes sense, for it is the only rational and effective way to learn about animal biology while teaching the students to respect all life forms and appreciate the wonder and magnificent beauty of the animal kingdom.

A FRAUD THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVASTATION OF OUR ENVIRONMENT

The removal of many of these animals from their natural environments destroys their habitats and threatens entire ecologies. In recent years, concern has mounted over the fact that frogs and toads are vanishing from the planet.²

The massive production and widespread use of pesticides and countless other chemicals found “safe” based on animal tests are responsible for the relentless and massive pollution of our land, rivers, and oceans, the consequent poisoning of our food and water supplies, the destruction of the earth’s protective ozone layer, and many other threats that are jeopardizing the very survival of life on the planet.

Large quantities of extremely hazardous chemicals are routinely used for killing and processing the animals. These chemicals add to the existing crisis associated with the safe disposal of hazardous waste, not to mention illegal dumping of chemicals by some biological supply companies that has been documented. In addition, the carcasses of dissected animals constitute hazardous waste and require extensive handling and costly disposal.

A FRAUD THAT KILLS AND TORTURES MILLIONS OF ANIMALS

Today, the practice of dissection is widespread in the United States. About 4 million students take high school biology each year and it is estimated that approximately 80% of them participate in frog dissection. Nowadays, vertebrate animal dissection is quite common in junior and middle high schools. And there have been documented cases in which students from grades 1-6 were also exposed to the medieval ritual of dissection. High school and junior college students are usually confronted with this practice in biology and in other classes where, in most cases, they are forced to dissect, among others, frogs, rats, mice, fishes snakes, turtles, pigeons, chickens, rabbits, mink, bats, fetal pigs, cats, and even dogs. The eyes, hearts, brains, kidneys, lungs, testicles, uteri, and many other animal parts are also often dissected in classrooms across the U.S. Pregnant animals are also made available to students. It is estimated that some 6 million animals a year are killed in the U.S. in order to be dissected.

Animals used in dissection are purchased from biological supply houses. The supply houses call them “preserved materials”. There is documented evidence that dogs and cats (often stolen by “bunchers” from people’s backyards), are killed in horrifying ways (gassed, poisoned, or beaten to death) at these supply houses. Cats and rats are also cut open and injected with formaldehyde while still alive. Live frogs are stuffed into burlap bags, put in a cooler overnight, and then killed by being drowned in drums of alcohol.³ Needless to say, providing animals for “educational” purposes is a multi-million dollar business.

In some instances, however, live animals are used in the classroom and then cut open to observe how different organs and systems work. Pithing live frogs is an example of this. “Good students” are encouraged to participate in “science fairs” where the projects conducted by teenagers are full-fledged vivisectionist experiments involving all kinds of live animals. Some of the “experiments” entered at these “science fairs” have involved operating on pregnant mice in order to remove the developing babies, blinding pigeons, bleeding dogs in order to produce a state of shock, subjecting all kinds of animals, including primates, to major surgeries, and many more. It is important to point out that many of the “projects” or “experiments” entered at these “science fairs” have received awards from large corporations such as General Motors, and also from the U.S. Army and the American Medical Association (AMA).  

"Projects" that try to "prove" the harmful effects of aspirin and various drugs, rock music, radiation, junk food, tobacco smoke, alcohol, marijuana, caffeine, sugar substitutes, insecticides, bee sting, mushrooms, and other poisons on live vertebrate animals are as common in the 1990s fairs affiliated with the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) as they were more than 40 years ago when it first began. In 1987 there were at least two projects involving centrifuging conscious small mammals and several more that consisted in spinning animals on phonograph turntables^.4

WHY MORAL AND ETHICAL ARGUMENTS CANNOT ABOLISH CLASSROOM DISSECTION

The courageous few who dare to voice their opposition to dissection feel that they must base their refusal on moral and ethical grounds. They argue that animals have rights, that it is immoral to kill them, and that forcing students to mutilate animals fosters desensitization and a lack of respect for all life. Unfortunately, as valid as these moral arguments are, they tend to strengthen the schools position since they are powerless to challenge the alleged scientific premise of dissection and vivisection. And, of course, the moral or "emotional" arguments advanced by the student can be easily and condescendingly dismissed by the teacher and school officials who will invariably pit the need to pursue "scientific knowledge" against some kind of "misguided love for animals".

Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of the students who refuse to dissect argue that they can learn about frog physiology by looking at pictures or by studying a frog on a computer screen. However, by refusing to dissect on moral and/or religious grounds, and by offering to study frogs and other animals in books and with the help of computers, the students are unwittingly supporting the very foundations of dissection and vivisection because they still endorse the premise which maintains that it is necessary to look at the insides of animals in order to understand human anatomy and physiology.

Dissection, like vivisection, is an educational, medical, and scientific issue and not a moral, philosophical, or animal rights issue.1 The biomedical empire has a very good reason for wanting to promote the slogan animal rights (probably created by the biomedical empire itself). As long as the biomedical empire, the government, and the industry-controlled media are allowed to get away with instigating endless and pointless debates about whether or not it is moral to perform animal experiments, the public is prevented from knowing and even thinking about the possibility of such experiments being medically and scientifically fraudulent.

The bottom line is this: If the student wants to win the confrontation, he/she must destroy the premise on which dissection is based; namely, that it is necessary to dissect animals in order to learn about the human body and its organ systems.

YOU HAVE THE POWER TO STOP DISSECTION

Refuse to participate in dissection. If enough students boycott dissection and it becomes too much of a controversial issue for the school, it will be stopped. You can be the organizer of such a movement within your own school. Also, remember that several states such as California and Pennsylvania have passed laws that offer students alternative projects to dissection. Many other states and local counties also have similar policies in place. Contact your local board of education to find out whether such policies exist in your district.

Start an Antivivisection group in your school or college. Organize demonstrations and call the media. Schools hate negative publicity. Remember that the conceptual revolution needed to abolish dissection has to come from within schools and colleges.

Organize film presentations and lectures on campus focusing on the medical and scientific fraud of dissection and vivisection. The Nature of Wellness can make videos, books, and literature available to students. We can also provide speakers to conduct free presentations in schools and colleges in the Southern California area.

Order quantities of this color brochure and distribute to your classmates, friends, and teachers. Request our brochure, "What You Can Do as a Volunteer" and become active in your own community.

This pamphlet may be copied for distribution purposes as long as it is copied and distributed without any changes (no additions or deletions of any kind).

REFERENCES   
1 See article by SUPRESS Founder and Director, Javier Burgos, entitled “Animal Rights: The Suicide of a Movement,” © 1988, 1990, 1991 by  SUPRESS, Inc. (Book by the same title available from SUPRESS after June 1993.
2. Interior Department’s Dr. Bury stated recently: “Leopard frogs are missing from 80 percent of the localities where they had once been  recorded.” Dr. Bury works at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ecological Center in Fort Collins, Colorado. As per article “A Silent Spring” by  Bill Marvel, The Dallas Morning News, April 22, 1990. 
3. From “Dying for Biology” by PETA regarding investigation of  Carolina Biological Supply Company (CBS), and Ward’s Natural  Science Establishment. Also, PETA's video entitled,“Classroom Cut-Ups,” © 1990 by PETA, Washington, D.C.
4. Information regarding “science fairs” was obtained from articles   written by F. Barbara Orlans, Ph.D., such as “Should Students Harm or   Destroy Animal Life?”, The American Biology Teacher, 50, no.1, January 1988, and others.

from the site www.animalresearch.org