Getting a pass on animal dissection

Capital News (Kelowna)
Apr 15 2005
Shelley Nicholl
Staff Reporter

High school students may not realize they don't have to cut into a cow's eye or slice up a frog in biology class if they don't want to.

When presented with a request at Wednesday's school board meeting to set a policy so students didn't have to do dissection in class, the school trustees discovered they didn't need to create a new policy because one already existed.

Carmen Crosland, president of Youth Against Animal Abuse, and Cory Davis, director of youth programs for The Responsible Animal Care Society, wrote to the trustees asking them to make sure students know they don't have to dissect animals to pass their classes.

"Unfortunately, many teachers do not recognize that choice and are still requiring their students to dissect or risk a significant drop in their grades," said the letter.

"For this reason, we feel it is necessary to have policy regarding this issue, so that all students who wish to study biology can do so with confidence that their ethical principles will be respected."

Superintendent Ron Rubadeau said the curriculum doesn't require that students need to do the dissection part of their class to pass the course.
But, chairwoman Moyra Baxter pointed out that students may not know that and wondered if the teachers were aware of it as well.

Rubadeau said he hadn't heard any complaints or concerns about students doing the dissections, but would check with the science teachers.

Rubadeau added that students do opt out of different things, such as field trips or certain literature, at their choice. "So far, it's not a major kind of concern."