Stop Cat Dissection in American Schools

More than 100,000 cats are dissected in classrooms across the country annually by hundreds of thousands of young adults in junior and senior high schools and colleges.

Investigations have shown that Class B dealers (licensed animal brokers) obtain cats from a variety of legal and illegal sources including animal shelters, strays and "free to a good home" ads. Some may even prey on pets that are left unattended. An operation in Mexico was exposed for snatching cats off the street and paying children $1 for each cat caught.. They would then drown them and ship them to the US for dissection in classrooms and labs. In order to get the cats to classrooms, Class B dealers sell the cats to biological supply companies.

Schools choose to dissect because they view dissection as the only way to learn about anatomy. There are a multitude of alternatives to cat dissection which include using human or cat anatomy models, books, charts, videos and CD-ROMs. Another way to learn anatomy is to observe a veterinary or medical surgery.

The United Kingdom prohibits the use of cats in school dissection classes. Switzerland, Norway, India, Argentina, the Netherlands, Slovakia and Denmark all prohibit dissection below the university level. For students in junior high, high school and college, the dissection of a once-living being is not only unethical but unnecessary, Education should foster compassion and respect for life, rather than promote the idea that animals are expendable. Stop feline dissection in American schools.

United States Secretary of Education
Arne Duncan
U.S. Department of Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20202
Phone: 202-401-1576
Email: arne.duncan@ed.gov