Frog populations are declining worldwide. The use of wild frogs for class dissections contributes to the extinction of these amphibians, in addition to the infectious introduction of captive-raised frogs to the wild. In addition, the anatomy classes provided at MLK include a lab that focuses on the dissection of the same cats many of us care for in our homes. It is simply cruel to ask students to cut open and peer into animals similar to the ones we know and love. One easy way to help these animals, our students, and our school is to stop dissections!

There are so many fantastic alternatives to the dissection of frogs, including several FREE virtual dissections. Not only would we be saving frogs by ceasing dissections, but we would also be saving hundreds of dollars a year!!!

In biology classes, students' time would be better spent learning about frog species and ways to help save them, while anatomy students could have peace of mind while dissecting virtual frogs. If anything, these methods would be more beneficial to the studies of biology and anatomy in that students would not only learn about the horrors of depleting animal populations and the importance of respect for our fellow inhabitants of earth, but also would better achieve the standards required by the state for each class. Virtual dissections eliminate the common occurrence of imprecisely performed dissections due to students' mistakes (which often results in the inability to utilize the subject of the dissection) as they are more precise and do not require students to learn how to use scalpels (which are, by Tennessee standards, weapons that are not allowed on campus...imagine if one were to go missing!).

It is unnecessary for students at MLK who wish to pursue careers in fields including aspects of anatomy and biology to perform frog dissections in high school. Those students who wish to dissect frogs often have the opportunity to do so outside of our school, in more professional settings, such as at Vanderbilt.

Some of the alternative virtual dissections available including Digital Frog 2.5, frogsarecool.com (also available on iPad), Froguts, the McGraw-Hill Virtual Frog Dissection, and (for other dissections) DissectionWorks.

The inhumanity of these dissections is unfathomable, unnecessary, and must be stopped!