Cuts at Springfield Public Schools Prompt Offer for Free Virtual-Dissection Software

Humane Alternative to Animal Dissection Saves Money While Providing Students With a Lesson in Compassion

For Immediate Release:
April 1, 2010

Contact:
Elizabeth Graffeo 757-622-7382

Springfield, Ill. -- With the news of Illinois' proposed education cuts--including cutting the school week down to four days--it appears that the budget ax may be taking a heavy toll on Illinois' public schools, and TeachKind, PETA's humane-education division, is offering to help. This morning, TeachKind sent a letter to Walter Milton, superintendent of Springfield Public Schools, offering to provide each of the district's high schools with a free copy of Digital Frog 2.5, a virtual-dissection computer program. Not only can the software replace the use of animals in classrooms, it can also save the school system thousands of dollars.

"We'd like to help Springfield Public Schools put the 'life' back into life sciences by modernizing the study of living organisms so that children can learn anatomy and respect for animals," says TeachKind's program coordinator, Elizabeth Graffeo. "Digital Frog is a win-win solution for everyone. Students receive a quality learning experience, schools save money, and animals' lives are spared--all at the same time."

Every year, approximately 10 million animals are dissected in secondary-school and college science classes. Most of the animals who are used in these experiments are obtained from biological supply houses. PETA undercover investigations of these supply houses have documented that terrified cats were forcefully herded into gas chambers and that animals writhed in apparent agony after being injected with formaldehyde while they were still showing signs of life. Frogs and other animals are often captured from wild populations, wreaking havoc on local ecosystems.

Humane alternatives to dissection don't just save lives--they also save money. A Digital Frog 2.5 license for every computer in an entire school, for example, costs a maximum of $899 and can be used an unlimited number of times. In contrast, the cost of setting up animal dissections for 300 students over a period of five years adds up to $6,850. Studies have shown that non-animal alternatives--including models, videos, and interactive computer software--teach anatomy and complex biological processes as well as or better than animal dissection does. In fact, in 2008, the National Science Teachers Association amended its official position statement on animal dissection to approve and encourage the use of non-animal alternatives.

TeachKind's staff can be contacted at Info@teachkind.org. For more information, please visit PETA's Web site TeachKind.org.