Biosphera offers virtual reality alternatives
In 1752, the Murder Act was passed to stop surgeons using corpses of executed murderers to dissect. The days of animal dissection in schools thankfully seem to be over in the UK, though children abroad are gradually opting out in countries where it’s still practiced. It’s completely unnecessary to dissect frogs, earthworms, rats, cats and even fetal pigs in the name of ‘science’. However, animal dissection does continue in some medical schools, but there are plenty of humane alternatives that can legally be used.
Just like factory farms, small animals like rabbits, mice and rats are bred for dissection in cramped cages, and small pigs are often cut from their mothers’ wombs in abbatoirs, for use in dissection. You can choose to donate your human body for medical research after death, a great way to help others and reduce animal suffering too. Also read up on why you should only give to humane medical research.
The USA’s PCRM (Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine) has been at the forefront of offering and finding humane alternatives, all proven to be as effective and safer for students too.
Digital Frog is the gold-standard software to replace frog dissections, which are not just cruel and harm ecosystems, but also often contain formaldehyde (which can cause cancer) and are expensive (this software can be used again and again for years, saving school and medical budgets). Frogs are often used in dissection as their heart is similar to ours, but this software lets students student all major body systems including circulatory, control, digestive, endocrine, immune, nervous, respiratory and urogenital, in a humane and better way. Here are a few other clever alternative dissection alternatives:
- Norecopa has an extensive list of dissection alternatives
- Merge Cube lets you dissect a ‘virtual frog’
- Froggipedia is an award-winning virtual app
- SynDaver offers virtual models of humans, dogs, cats etc
