In some of the experiments, rats are deprived of food in order to train them to press a lever to receive a food pellet. Then the rats are killed by asphyxiation. In another course, rats are infected with larval tapeworm parasites. Then they are killed and dissected.
In a physiology laboratory, frogs' brains are destroyed by sticking a pin through their skulls. Then they are dissected while their hearts are still beating.There are
humane, non-animal methods available to replace these
cruel and deadly experiments. These alternatives have been repeatedly shown to teach anatomy and physiology as well as or better than the use of rats and frogs in these kinds of courses.
Please contact SVSU officials and politely ask them to end these experiments and implement humane, non-animal teaching methods in the university's science courses.We the undersigned were shocked to learn that Saginaw Valley State University has been allowing experiments on frogs and rats in its biology and psychology courses--despite the inherent cruelty of these experiments and the availability of humane, non-animal methods that teach the same concepts. Time and again, modern non-animal methods have proved to be equivalent or superior to the use of animals in their ability to provide students with an understanding of complex biological processes.
We urge you to end these experiments permanently and replace them with some of the non-animal alternatives that are available and in use at other educational institutions. Teacher training should be reformed to include animal dissection alternatives, and the dissection of animals should not be a prerequisite for obtaining a science license.
Thank you for taking the time to read this.
