Virtual Reality Leader Donates Its Advanced V-Frog Software to Community College; Real Frogs Will Hop Away Unharmed

For Immediate Release:
October 29, 2009

Contact:
Justin Goodman 757-622-7382

Getzville, N.Y. -- PETA and Getzville, N.Y.-based virtual reality leader Tactus Technologies Inc. have teamed up to provide Johnston Community College (JCC) in Smithfield, N.C., with a donation that will allow every classroom in the building to access Tactus Technologies' V-Frog™ virtual dissection software. V-Frog™ allows students to learn anatomy without cutting up dead animals.

"Tactus Technologies is helping to make sure that biology students get a first-class, modern education by using the very latest technology to replace real frogs--something that will save not only frogs but also the schools' valuable resources," says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo. "With modern anatomy software available at the click of a mouse, countless frogs, pigs, cats, and other animals will be spared a painful and terrifying death."

In September, PETA awarded $5,000 to JCC biology instructor Nahel Awadallah to help the school develop a state-of-the-art computer simulation–based biology curriculum. With unlimited, free access to V-Frog™, JCC will now completely replace the dissection of fetal pigs in all 37 sections of its general biology and online courses. Also, Tactus is offering visitors to PETA's Web site an exclusive 10 percent discount on V-Frog™ and all its other products.

The millions of animals who are used in school dissections come from biological supply houses, which breed some animals and obtain others from animal shelters or their homes in the wild. Nearly every comparative study has found that non-animal teaching methods such as computer programs are as effective as--and in many cases better than--animal-based methods. Last year, the National Science Teachers Association amended its official position statement to endorse the use of modern non-animal methods as replacements for animal dissection.

For more information, please visit PETA's Web site PETA.org. To learn more about Tactus Technologies and V-Frog™, please visit TactusTech.com.