This is a dissenting opinion to High School Animal Dissections Should Be Banned, published on April 16, 2025.
Dissections may be a moral gray area, but they are pertinent to biology classes. As someone who dissected a fetal pig in Biology and a cat in AP Biology, I’ve learned far more through those experiences than I ever could have through textbooks.
Dissections are some of the most informative and interesting parts of science classes. Having a physical representation of anatomy helps students understand the spacing of organs and have a tactile experience with the class material.
For many students, including myself, the monotony of taking notes every day or listening to teachers lecture is exhausting and boring. Dissections offer an engaging opportunity for students to apply their knowledge and use hands-on learning styles that help them retain information.
“The dissection made me learn better because you could see it and feel it, whereas in a diagram, it’s not as clear,” junior AP Biology student Adam Ho said.
In a study that assessed student knowledge of the anatomy of fish and rats, students who used both plastic anatomical models and cadavers showed the most improvement, while students who only used the anatomical models showed the least improvement by a significant margin.
Studies like these can unfortunately be misinterpreted and twisted by organizations like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Study summaries published by anti-dissection groups only include that the students who used models had higher test scores, when in reality, dissections showed larger improvement in scores.
In most cases, dissection alternatives like plastic models are uniform. This removes the possibility of anatomical anomalies, like missing kidneys, abnormal amounts of connective tissue, or abnormal hearts.
During the AP Biology cat dissection, I had a particularly hard time making incisions because my cat had an unusually large amount of fascia, a tissue that surrounds muscles and organs. With the help of my teacher, I was able to understand how the cat’s environment and behaviors resulted in an elevated amount of fascia.
Seeing variations between specimens allows students to delve deeper into the subject, an experience they might not have gained if they were using alternatives like plastic models or paper dissections.
Arguments against dissections typically revolve around their supposed cruelty—killing animals exclusively for dissection, disregard for life, or inhumane living conditions—, but in reality, those claims are largely unfounded.
Dissections use animals that would otherwise be disposed of. Fetal pigs, for example, are byproducts of the meat industry. They are extracted from the sow in utero, while the sow is used to make meat. Companies like Carolina Biological, where M-A purchases most of their specimens from, purchase these fetal pigs, preserve them, and then sell them to schools for dissections. These animals would not be alive regardless of the dissection.
When we were preparing for the dissection, my AP Biology teacher emphasized that respect for the animals was required. We were only allowed to take photos with explicit permission and had to promise that they were only used for the purpose of studying. If students chose to act in disrespectful ways around the animals, they were warned that there would be severe consequences, including a referral to the AVP office.
“I was afraid of the cat at first, but after learning its anatomy and truly understanding the animal, you almost feel like you are appreciating their existence more because you understand their nature a bit better,” senior AP Biology student Ayla Karadogan said.
It is understandable that some students don’t want to partake in dissections. Whether they object to dissections for moral reasons, religious restrictions, or adverse medical reactions like fainting, students should have the option to opt out—and they do. According to California Education Code 32255, all students in grades K-12 have the right to request an alternative to an animal dissection that is of comparable time and effort. Similar laws exist in 21 other states and the District of Columbia.
“I tell my students weeks ahead of time that the dissection is coming to give themselves time to prepare and decide if they wish to be an active participant or not,” Biology teacher Mark Helfenberger said. “If not, they are expected to be present and assist their lab group by reading instructions, writing in the paper of students dissecting, cleaning up tools, or wiping down tables if they are comfortable.”
Some students’ opposition to dissecting animals shouldn’t mean that everyone has to miss out on the valuable opportunity to gain surgical experience, effectively learn about anatomy, and spark interest in the field of biology.
“I feel like my knowledge before the dissections was more superficial than afterward. The dissections really helped me gain a deeper understanding of different bodily organs and their functions,” junior AP Biology and Human Biology student Lily Pellican said.
