PETA Donates Software to Help Keep Dissection Out of Virginia Beach School

Catholic Elementary School Welcomes Modern Teaching Tools That Make Compassion a Part of Science Classes

For Immediate Release:
May 1, 2013

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Virginia Beach, Va. — When students at Star of the Sea Catholic School start learning about anatomy, none of them will cut into an animal, thanks to software donated by PETA.

To help the school implement a state-of-the-art, all-virtual dissection laboratory that uses computer software to teach the students, Norfolk-based PETA—through its national educational grants program—has donated Punflay’s Virtual Frog Dissection software, which features 3-dimensional organ views, anatomical comparisons of human and frog organs, and dissection tools. Interactive software such as Virtual Frog has been shown to teach anatomy better than animal dissection.

“PETA’s donation will help Star of the Sea Catholic School take the lead in teaching biology using humane, modern methods,” says PETA Vice President of Laboratory Investigations Kathy Guillermo. “Countless frogs, pigs, cats, and other animals are still killed for dissection at less progressive schools, even though non-animal methods for teaching biology are far superior.”

The millions of animals used in school dissection come from biological supply houses, which breed animals, or are obtained from animal shelters or the wild. Comparative studies have repeatedly shown that non-animal teaching methods, such as interactive computer programs, are more effective at teaching biology than crude animal-based methods. These programs also save time and money and increase student confidence and satisfaction. The National Science Teachers Association endorses the use of modern non-animal methods as replacements for animal dissection.

For more information, please visit PETA.org/Dissection.