The cat pictured above is no different from the animals who share our homes, but recent eyewitness footage reveals that Santa Monica College apparently uses pregnant cats like her for dissection lessons—even though there are humane alternatives that don't involve cutting open animals.
Dissection is bad science: Studies show that students are less interested in science after being forced to dissect, and it's a cruel way to teach biology and anatomy. All medical schools in the U.S. and Canada have stopped using animals in courses for medical students, and even Texas A&M—the third-largest university in the country—is phasing out dissection in its human anatomy and physiology course. Dissection is unnecessary, and students—and animals—deserve better.
PETA has even offered to donate superior non-animal methods to Santa Monica College, but so far, it hasn't taken us up on the offer.
You can help prevent more cats from suffering. Urge Santa Monica College to ditch cat dissections and instead use humane non-animal methods to teach its students.
Subject: Please End Cat Dissection
Dear [Decison maker],
I was shocked to learn that students at Santa Monica College are asked to dissect cats.
Studies show that classroom animal dissection fosters insensitivity toward animals, and the troubling eyewitness footage that has recently come to light is a case in point. Cats exploited for classroom dissection are often someone's lost or stolen animal companion--but in classrooms, they're treated like disposable laboratory tools. The callous behavior exhibited in the video also violates the guidelines of leading science-education organizations.
Please replace animal dissection with one of the many superior, humane non-animal methods that are commonly used across the country.
[Your comments here]
Sincerely,
[Your name]
