This fall, when Cavender Salvadori’s seventh-grade science teacher announced that the class would be dissecting a lamb’s heart, Cavender refused to let his opinions go unheard. A 13-year-old vegetarian who tries to support the humane treatment of animals, Cavender raised his hand to announce that he objected based on moral grounds and would not be participating in the dissection. “I find it disrespectful to the animal being dissected,” Cavender said. “When I see a dead animal, it makes me sad if humans caused their deaths.” He also expressed concerns about dissection for ecological reasons: “Many of the animals used for dissection are taken from the wild even if they are part of a decreasing population.” Cavender’s teacher will allow students who object to the dissection to use non-animal learning methods.
Cavender is just one of thousands of students who will be assigned to perform a dissection in science class this year, even though studies have repeatedly shown that non-animal learning methods teach as well—or even better—than animal dissection. In addition, non-animal methods are ethical, are better for the environment, and save schools money. To find out more about dissection and what you can do to help transition your local schools to modern, humane teaching methods, visit www.DissectionAlternatives.org. Thanks to Cavender for setting such a great example of conscientious objection in the classroom!
This fall, when Cavender Salvadori’s seventh-grade science teacher announced that the class would be dissecting a lamb’s heart, Cavender refused to let his opinions go unheard. A 13-year-old vegetarian who tries to support the humane treatment of animals, Cavender raised his hand to announce that he objected based on moral grounds and would not be participating in the dissection. “I find it disrespectful to the animal being dissected,” Cavender said. “When I see a dead animal, it makes me sad if humans caused their deaths.” He also expressed concerns about dissection for ecological reasons: “Many of the animals used for dissection are taken from the wild even if they are part of a decreasing population.” Cavender’s teacher will allow students who object to the dissection to use non-animal learning methods.