Animal dissections at high school

i think there are a few threads on this i found this one i hope it helpful
http://www.unleashed.org.au/community/forum/topic.php?t=1827

Thanks so much, I have had a look few at a few threads. Will keep doing so but hopeful for some more sharing of experiences, especially focusing on how people were treated by their schools when they refused to do the dissections and if they were offered any alternatives.

I'm currently completing a Marine Science/Sustainable Resource Management degree at university.

In one of my early biology classes we were told the week prior that we would be dissecting an insect, probably a grasshopper.
Needless to say I raised my opinion on animal rights and how these insects are living beings and not there just for us to cut up. Initially my comment was met with laughs and giggles (as it was very early in my degree and only my closer friends knew I was vegan).
So after a few people saw that I wasn't laughing the lecturer asked me what I was going to do when the time came to dissect the insect. I said I wouldn't touch it. He said, even if it meant a fail in this class? I told him that if he were to fail me based on not completing one small task which I found morally wrong, that I would head straight to the higher authorities and mention it to them.
The conversation kind of petered off there. I got a load of weird looks for the rest of that class.
The next week came around, sure enough there was a big tub full of ethanol and dead grasshoppers (much more than the amount of students in the class).
I felt that all eyes were on me and how I was about to "spaz out" - Before much happened my lecturer approached me and mentioned that I could sit this one out if I wanted to. Obviously I took this option.
I sat through that class and listened to the few smart ass students saying things like "Dave, mmm look at this, yum yum" and copping the looks to suggest I was somehow 'bludging'.

A few weeks later we moved onto mammals.
And, sure enough there was a rat dissection coming up.
By this time I had really voiced my opinions in a lot of my classes and even had the support of a fair few students. I had met a fellow student who was interested in veganism (she eventually went vegan, I think Earthlings did it for her). So I was no longer the "militant, anarchist, hippy, tree hugging, weirdo" - I was just the "animal rights guy".
So the time came when the rat dissection was upon us. It was a bit different than the grasshopper one. The lecturer, who by now I was really friendly with, gave me a sheet to fill in that showed the major organs of mammals, their functions, positions, etc. The girl interested in veganism sat out the dissection too.

I have since made it very clear to a lot of my university contacts that there are alternatives to dissection. Hopefully something sinks in, as a few of these students are interested in becoming teachers/educators at a later stage.

I'm so glad you stood up to your lecturer! I completely agree with you, people should know that animals and insects are living beings and they are not ours to cut up. If i was asked to dissect at my high school, I would be sure to say no as well, despite those smart asses(god, i hate them).

In high school i refused to do dissections. The school was not very supportive at all i had to have a letter from my mother and was made to sit outside of class with no work to do while the rest of the class did the dissectons.

Tofu ninja, Thank you so much for sharing your story and well done on staying so true to your morals. It just shows you how unnecessary dissections are when they can so easily provide an alternative. thanks again.

It is a shame they didn't support your decision or offer an alternative, did they fail you?

Way back in 1988 when I was in Year 7, we had a science class dissecting pregnant rats. I refused to participate and sat outside the classroom. It was this incident that was the final catalyst for turning me vegetarian.

No alternative teaching method was offered but I was never threatened with failure of the subject. I think the teacher empathised with my stance. Looking back, I think she may have even felt admiration for the courage it took to stand up for what I believed in, despite the fact it made me "different" and a target for teasing. She was also my homeroom teacher and at the end of the year she gave each student a "fun award." She gave me the Animal Liberation award, which I have kept to this day, as it meant a lot to me to be recognised as taking the issue seriously.

Other students giving me a hard time was the worst part to me. I was already not one of the popular crowd and this just made things worse, but obviously I felt very strongly about my beliefs because I never backed down.

Saddest thing is that now I'm an adult, I'm still given a hard time, usually in the form of jokes or people who think they now what's best for me in regards to nutrition. I know we all get that but all through school I had hoped that once I reached adulthood, my peers would have grown out of such pettiness....alas, not so  

wow, thank you for sharing such an honest and moving story. It is a shame people feel the need to tease others who choose to live a life of compassion. good on you!