Smithsonian Institution Removes Live Animals From Science Curriculum

October 2013

Following more than a year of discussions with PETA as well as an online advocacy campaign, the Smithsonian Institution’s Science Education Center amended its science curriculum to remove a lesson that instructed teachers at hundreds of participating schools to purchase live African dwarf frogs, fiddler crabs, and millipedes for classroom animal behavior lessons. 

PETA first contacted the Smithsonian after receiving complaints from teachers, parents, and others about the neglect and cruel killing of animals used in the program. 

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 Ingrid E. Newkirk

“Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights?” READ MORE

— Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA President and co-author of Animalkind