Can you imagine skinning and cutting up a beloved family pet? In early December I started a petition when I found out my daughter was expected to do just that at Culpeper County High School in Virginia. She is very interested in human anatomy, but the mere thought of skinning a cat that was the same species as her precious kitty Sparta (aka Booboo) left her speechless. And left me motivated to take action on behalf of the students who care and these companion animals who are being denied respect even in death. I'm happy to report that as of today our petition has reached 87,000 signatures and climbing! If you haven't signed and shared yet, I hope you will. These cats and these students who are traumatized by this archaic requirements need our help. Since I put out the petition I discovered some very stomach-turning evidence of the levels of indifference to the suffering of animals these kinds of classroom 'activities' engender in today's youth. Consider what happened in one Oklahoma City classroom as a result of cat dissection in the classroom: "The disturbing footage posted to Facebook shows nine young students from the flagship charter school - which is rated among the best schools in the USA - making the cat corpses 'dance' to music in a school laboratory while being 'conducted' by another student." Read more and see the video for yourself here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3111455/School-ends-feline-dissection-anatomy-students-make-dead-cats-dance-Meow-Mix-theme-song-post-video-online.html#ixzz3wJ3lUx4x After the public outcry, the school ended cat dissection. And that's what I want too—not only in Oklahoma City, but also at Culpeper County High School in Virginia, and every other school in the U.S. Animal dissection in the classroom is prohibited in Argentina, Israel, the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic, and Switzerland, and is being phased out in England, Germany, Sweden, and India. There are many humane alternatives, including lifesize models that could be purchased by the school system that would more than pay for themselves in just a few years. Miami-Dade school district in Florida banned cat dissection in the classroom in June of 2015. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/education/article25028401.html If they can do it, so can we! Thank you for signing. Please share. Keep it going. We can put an end to this kind of abuse of companion animals and the students who love them.