Alternatives to Dissection Spreading Worldwide
by Patricia Collier
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Hebrew
University (HU) zoology students in Israel are learning
about pigeons. They are studying the birds' digestive
and circulatory systems, examining their brains and
skeletons.
And
they are doing it without setting foot in a traditional
dissection laboratory.
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Thanks
to the VCR and TV and an international loan program called
InterNICHE, students worldwide can now learn about the anatomy
of pigs, rats, cats and other animals in a more humane fashion.
Materials
such as the "Vertebrate Dissection Guide series"
used by HU, are available from InterNICHE and are helping
to provide students and teachers with the latest humane
alternatives to classroom animal dissection and live animal
experimentation.
InterNICHE's
loan system gives users access to a complete library of
CD-ROMs, videos, models and mannequins. It covers fields
such as anatomy, physiology and surgery. Teachers and students
from anywhere in the world can borrow the items.
Tamir Lousky, with InterNICHE Israel, said the professor
of the zoology class previously mentioned was so impressed
by the quality of the videos, he stated next year's lab
might be completely animal-free.
"In
addition, after three years of struggling against the faculty
staff at the Tel-Aviv University's School of Human Medicine,
the faculty dean finally declared to the public and press
that next year, the last education lab that still includes
harmful animal use will be replaced by an alternative non-animal
lab program," Lousky said.
Over
the past three years, two other animal labs at the school
have been replaced and canceled.
"With
the desired transition, the [university] will become the
second school of medicine in Israel that ceased using animals
entirely, out of four such schools," Lousky said.
In
addition, Lousky said the undergraduate biology program
at the school does not include any mandatory courses that
involve harmful animal use in education.
"This
is the first biology department in my country that officially
allows gaining an undergraduate biology degree without any
harmful animal uses, and without penalty," she said.
"After
quite a long time of ...status quo in the field of animal
use in education in Israel, there have been some encouraging
developments," Lousky said.
InterNICHE
has also been providing teachers worldwide with the newest
version of its book, 'From Guinea Pig to Computer Mouse,'
which has been described by reviewers as "a comprehensive
guide to alternatives to the harmful use of animals in education."
The
publication discusses over 500 products designed for use
in a "progressive life science education."
The
Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) also operates
a loan program of materials designed to give students and
teachers humane alternatives to classroom dissections of
cats, fetal pigs and more.
Organizations
such as InterNICHE and HSUS are leaders in providing practical
alternatives to animal dissection around the world.
©
2004 Animal News Center, Inc.
