A Victorian science teacher has started a petition calling for an end to animal dissections in Victorian secondary schools. Read on or...
Animal dissection is not required in Victorian schools. The Victorian education department currently permits dissections if a school chooses to use them, but schools are expected to justify the use of animals and consider animal-free methods.
Vegan Australia supports the move away from animal dissections and towards animal-free education. Animals' bodies should not be treated as classroom materials to be used, cut apart and discarded.
The use of animals in education is one example of a wider injustice in which animals are treated as tools, specimens or resources for human purposes. The assumption that animals exist for human use also underpins other forms of animal use, especially the use of animals for food, where the greatest number of animals are exploited and killed and where living vegan is the most direct way to act in support of animals' rights.
In dissection, animals are denied the most basic right to continue living, and their bodies are turned into classroom materials.
Dissection is often presented as a normal part of science education, but it is not necessary for students to learn anatomy, biology or scientific thinking. Animal-free teaching methods, including digital simulations, 3D models, videos and written research tasks, help students meet learning outcomes without using animals.
The petition argues that dissection has become a tradition in science education rather than an essential part of learning. It also points to research showing that students can perform as well, and often better, when non-animal teaching methods are used instead of dissection.
Classroom dissection encourages students to view animals' bodies as objects that can be used as classroom materials. It may be presented as a lesson in anatomy, but it also reinforces the wider speciesist idea that animals exist for human purposes, rather than as sentient beings with their own lives, relationships and interests.
Some students are distressed by dissection, while others may become detached from the fact that the body in front of them was once someone, not something. In either case, the practice normalises animal use in an educational setting where students should be encouraged to think critically about science, ethics and responsibility.
Science education should not require students to act against their ethical convictions or to take part in activities that depend on animal use.
Schools have access to a growing range of animal-free teaching resources. These can support students to learn anatomy and biology without reinforcing the idea that animals are disposable materials.
Animal-free teaching can also make science more accessible to students who object to animal use, who are distressed by dissection or who want to learn in a way that is consistent with respect for animals.
Replacing dissection strengthens science education by using accurate, accessible and animal-free teaching methods. It is also a recognition that education should develop knowledge without treating animals as property, specimens or classroom supplies.
If your school does not already use animal-free learning, Vegan Australia has resources to help students and families ask for alternatives to animal dissection and other school activities involving animals.
These resources include template letters for students, parents and guardians, along with guidance on how to explain the request clearly and respectfully. Students can ask to meet the same learning outcomes through an animal-free activity, such as a digital simulation, research task, model-based activity or written assignment.
View Vegan Australia's student opt-out resources.
Vegan Australia encourages supporters in Victoria and across Australia to sign and share the petition.
Ending dissections would send an important message: animals are not objects for human use, and education should not depend on their bodies.
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