Studying of animals in science education

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Each year, an estimated 20 million animals (10 million vertebrates and 10 million invertebrates) equaling around 170 or more different species are used in the U.S. in all areas of education and grade levels.2 Animals are kept as “pets” in classrooms and used in biology and psychology classes, graduate training courses, and science fair projects.

The studying of animals in science education has taken place since the 1960s and the practice of dissection—the act of cutting into and examining a dead animal—continues to serve as a prominent educational tool for teaching anatomy and other “life” sciences (e.g. physiology, behavior, nutrition, and genetics). Students dissect preserved animals throughout all levels of biology education, from middle school to graduate school. College students who participate in biology courses typically encounter dissection labs. Medical schools perform dissection; however, the students often perform the dissections on human cadavers. Veterinary schools’ curricula involve animal dissection and the use of live animals through a number of different ways.

Animals commonly used in education include frogs, fetal pigs, cats, dogs, dogfish sharks, perch, pigeons, rats, mice, rabbits, minks, foxes, bats, turtles, grasshoppers, earthworms, crayfish, clams, cockroaches, sea urchins, squid, and starfish—also known as sea stars. The most frequently dissected vertebrate animals are frogs, fetal pigs, and cats. Many animals—like frogs, salamanders, turtles, and dogfish sharks—are taken from the wild, while others come from licensed animal breeders and dealers, pet stores, fur farms, and slaughterhouses. In addition to buying animals purposely bred for use in research and teaching from licensed animal breeders (known as Class A Dealers), schools and universities also purchase animals from biological supply companies (Class B dealers) and/or random source dealers (Class B random source dealers). Random source dealers obtain live and/or dead animals, like cats and dogs, through a variety of means such as animal shelters and pounds (often referred to as “pound seizure”), from “free animal” ads, or as “stray” animals. These dealers then sell the animals to biological supply companies, schools, and colleges and universities. Supply companies may also purchase animals from any of these sources or from other dealers, and many have direct contracts with animal shelters and pounds both inside and outside the U.S. As of October 1, 2014, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it will no longer fund research that involves dogs procured from random source Class B dealers. NIH adopted a similar policy regarding cats in 2012.