Animal Dissections in Schools – Should It Be Banned? 20927 Jung Minseo Blood pumping and rushing through the veins. Cream-colored intestines tangled around crimson liver. The bones breaking apart at the tip of the scissors. These scenes might be familiar to you if you ever dissected an animal. Animal dissections in schools have been done for a long time, but concerns about animal rights and long-term adverse psychological effects have stopped the practice in recent years. With some student clubs having activities focused on dissection of animals, including Zootomia and SM, some concerns have been raised by teachers and students. I believe that dissection is not a necessary curriculum but it should not be banned. However, it must be done in a controlled environment where students can think about the moral and ethical issues surrounding the practice. The biggest reason of those who are against dissection is animal rights. Behavioral studies of diverse animals shown that some animals, including dogs, magpies, and elephants, while not as advanced as humans, animals do have a sense of self-awareness. If some …show more content…
If we not only let but encourage children and young adults to kill life because we somehow ‘need’ it for science, those who are concerned argues that it might bring about the perspective of life as a tool, as something we can take away if needed. This, as PETA puts it, “desensitizing the students to the sanctity of life”, is a major problem considering that developing brains are the ones experiencing the dissections. This can affect value development and foster neglect, abuse, and cruelty later in life. Moreover, those who oppose dissections in schools claims that it is not even necessary. They argue that everything students need to learn in class are already in photos and diagrams, and performing the dissection just for the sake of demonstration is purely meaningless