College courses

[FuzzButtLover]

In college what if they make you take a course that requires you to disect a poor animal. My neighbor had to disect a . . . cat. She is a school counseler. I can't imagine what course I would have to take to work with animals. Does anyone know anything about this? If you are vegitarian, what do you do, I am not going to disect something that was killed for no reason, were they already dead, were they killed for the best of it? How else do we learn the info and should I just not do it and fale?

[crazywiggy]

I think it depends on where you are... I'm sure there are some rules about disection, like if you don't want to do it the college must provide you with another option, like a computer program.
If you're not at college yet maybe you could ask before you start what their position is on this.

[Tatalp]

If the dissection is only during one day, I would just cut class.

[TheQueen]

Usually even high schools have a dissection while you take biology. I know during my freshman year of high school we had to dissect a fetal pig. I refused to do it. In New York, as well as many other states, there's a law saying that there has to be a different option for anything that involves harm or death to animals. My teacher still wanted me to do it, but I simply refused. I ended up doing a virtual dissection with a short written report and I got 120%, with extra credit.

I'm sure it's different in college, but I'm sure there will be loopholes and such. Plus, I'd imagine that it depends on what you are majoring in and what classes you're taking. If you're taking advanced biology than I'd imagine you'd need to dissect something. But there are laws and other options. You just need to see the school's curriculum and talk to the teacher about it. I'd imagine each school is different.

But, if you are majoring in biology or veterinary sciences or some other medical field, that dissection is going to be vitally important, so if you don't want to do it, you need to find an extension and very good virtual dissection, or watch the class. Even though I feel that dissection is wrong and would never take part in it, for someone that was going to become a doctor or something, it's kind of a necessity. But you can easily find a good virtual program as a substitute, too.

[hydrohoki]

It depends what classes you take. For us, only one of the versions of biology required the pig. Unfortunately, it's the one I had to take and the disection lasted 3 weeks.

We were offered the option of a very difficult assignment as an alternative. I wouldn't worry about it yet. If you end up in that section (and you'll know the first day of class most places) bring your concerns up with the professor or TA. If that doesn't work, you still have plenty of options up the food chain and with the college paper. I think most schools will work with you.

You might be lucky and not take that class. Biology majors had to take it as well as a few poor souls like me. However, you might look into it before you choose your science series so if you need to you could take chemistry or geology instead. The only animals I had to deal with in geology had been dead millions of years.

[FuzzButtLover]

I know that I have to disect a squid in science sometime in the next 3 years of highschool since both of my brothers did. I am not looking forward to explaining to the teacher why I won't, well I don't have to have an explaination, but everyone will be wondering what my problem is.

[Terekins]

Don't worry about what anyone thinks. I think back to highschool and remember the people who stood up for what they believed in (even when doing so was very difficult and awkward) and look upon them with respect. I wish I had done the same.

[gpigluver14]

In the honors science class at my school, people can dissect a pig. I could/would never do that do that! It really angers me that many people I know were like, "Sweet, I want to do that!"...Especially since I know how they kill them for it...The chemical they fill their bodies with to preserve them is like filling your whole body with hot water. Most of the time they are still alive when this happens...

[PurplePoe]

I think a lot of it depends on the university. I go to a pretty large school (more than 40,000 students) and I'm pretty sure you won't have to dissect unless you take upper-level life-sciences courses like biology or neuroscience. However, if you pursue a degree in animal sciences or veterinary medicine I can almost guarantee that you'll have to perform dissection as an undergraduate.

Poe

[Josephine]

A lot does depend upon the university and major. I was a bio sci major. I didn't have to do the dissections in many classes. I just stood my ground and used models and such.

The NAVS (National Anti-Vivisection Society) was a great resource and support. They even have models that they loan out for a small fee.

National Anti-Vivisection Society:

[wheekincavy]

This is a little late I suppose, but this is what I'll add.

In my high school Biology class we had to disect fetal pigs. They got the pigs from mother pigs that were sent to the slauter house...at least that is what I have been told. They came in tubs of preservative. It was grose, I wouldn't touch them or anything, the smell made me gag and I would hate to ever have to do it again.

Now in high school Anatomoy...we are dissecting cats. These cats come fully furred in a plastic bag (double bagged with preservative) inside a box. It is so grose...and horrible and I hate it. I have no choice but to do it or I don't get the credit in the class. These cats were once feral and they are just gassed to death. Horrible. And just so you know...I'll never eat chicken...