Here's the story of my day.....
I walked into my Sports, Health and Exercise Science class to find that we were being forced to dissect fetal pigs or receive a zero on the assignment. My teacher informed the class that farmers sell their pigs to slaughter when they are pregnant because they are worth more when they are heavier. The pig fetus is then cut out of the pig at the slaughter house and sold to the school. We were told that we must participate in the dissection, and that no one may leave the room. When some students voiced their complaints, she told us "If you eat hotdogs or other pig products you can't complain because you are part of the problem, not the solution". Even the students in the class who don't eat pig products were forced to become "part of the problem" by insisting they partake in the dissection, which supports the use of these fetuses.
When told to rinse off the "specimin", I coped by pretending to give the baby pig a bath. The pig was fully formed (about a foot long) and was larger than my full grown pet rabbit Ollie. According to this site (http://www6.district125.k12.il.us/science/accbio/05PigLab.pdf) it was 100 to 115 days old. The site also says pigs are born after 112 to 115 days. The fetus I was forced to dissect was ready to be born when it was ripped out of its slaughtered mother.
To begin we had to violently rip open the pig fetus' mouth until its jaw unhinged allowing us to see the epiglottis. I flinched every time I heard the cracking of the little creature being yanked apart. Next we cracked open its ribcage and removed all of its organs. How does this emotionally traumatic experience benefit me in life? Would a picture not have been sufficient? Did learning to pull all of the organs out of an incredibly cute creature provide me with some useful knowledge? It has been hours since the dissection and I still want to puke.
Please help me in my efforts to bring awareness to the injustice and cruelty of the food industry and Bedford High School's part in supporting the farmer's profit by selling fully gestational fetuses to slaughter. Is this what you want your high school tax dollars to go to? We trust as parents, that the school system provides emotional and physical safety to children. Ask your children if this makes them feel safe.
