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Studies: Animal Use and Alternatives: Prevalence and Attitudes (53)

Adkins J, Lock R. Using animals in secondary education: a pilot survey. Journal of Biological Education 1994;28(1):48-52.

A survey of teachers (28) in charge of biological sciences at schools/colleges showed extensive use of animals in the classroom.  One in three educators surveyed argued against such use.

Arluke A, Hafferty F. From apprehension to fascination with "Dog Lab:" The use of absolutions by medical students. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 1996;25(2):201-225.

Medical students (41) initially felt moral uneasiness towards performing terminal procedures on live dogs, but they eventually were able to neutralize any feelings of moral guilt by learning absolutions (e.g., the staff killed the dogs) that permit denial of responsibility and wrongdoing.

Ammons SW. Use of live animals in the curricula of U.S. medical schools in 1994. Academic Medicine 1995 Aug;70(8):740-743. Division of Biomedical Research, Association of American Medical Colleges, Washington, D.C., USA.

In 1994, the AAMC surveyed the 126 U.S. medical schools to obtain data on live-animal use in the undergraduate medical curriculum. The questions focused entirely on the use of live animals in teaching laboratories that are either required or optional parts of the undergraduate medical curriculum. Seventy-seven of the 125 responding schools used live animals in one or more courses; of the required courses, animals were most often used in physiology courses (49 schools), followed by surgical clerkships (21) and pharmacology courses (13). Although these data show that the majority of schools used live animals in their curricula, the data also show that the majority of schools did not use live animals as part of the teaching of any specific course of discipline in 1994. The animals most often used were dogs (54 schools) and pigs (12). Forty-three of the 77 schools that used live animals offered a variety of alternatives to their use. The respondents' data indicate a steady decline in the number of schools using live animals in teaching labs since before 1982. The reasons most often reported for discontinuing live-animal use were expense, changes in curriculum or curriculum focus, and lack of time, faculty, or space. Several other reasons were also listed, but live animals' value in teaching was seldom a factor. Only 15 schools indicated they had experienced harassment, protests, or legal actions arising from their use of live animals in the previous two years.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Balcombe JP. Alternatives in education: overcoming barriers to acceptance. In van Zutphen L.F.M. & Balls M. (Eds.). Animal Alternatives, Welfare and Ethics. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: Elsevier, 1997:441-444.

Balcombe JP. Student/teacher conflict regarding animal dissection. The American Biology Teacher 1997;59(1):22-25.

Baluch B, Kaur B. Attitude change toward animal experimentation in an academic setting. Journal of Psychology Interdisciplinary and Applied 1995 Jul 01;129(4):477-479. Bahman Baluch, School of Psychology, Middlesex University, Enfield, Middlesex EN3 4SE England.

There is growing interest in exploring attitudes toward animal experimentation (e.g., Archer, 1986; Furnham & Gunter, 1989; Fumham & Pinder, 1990; Gray, 1987). More recently, attention has been focused on the attitudes of individuals in an academic setting on animal experimentation. For example, Furnham and Heyes (1993) surveyed the attitudes of prospective psychology students, and Compton, Dietrich, and Smith (in press) focused on college students. However, students' attitudes may change at different levels of their university education (e.g., Pearce, Fisher, & Baluch, 1993), or their attitudes may differ, depending on the nature of their education.

Two questions that arise when focusing on a possible change in attitude in an academic setting are: Is there a difference in attitudes among students who are at different levels of university education? Does a psychology student differ in attitude toward animal experimentation from a student reading for a degree not related to research on animals? These were the issues explored in the present study.

Two statements, together with a Likert-type scale ranging from strongly agree (1), agree (2), no opinion (3), disagree (4), to strongly disagree (5) were presented to students at the University of Luton, who were asked to rate each statement on whether they felt that animals should be used for the purpose of medical and psychological research.

Participants were 332 students, 96 of whom were in 1st-year psychology classes (M age, 20.1; SD, 2.8) and 73 of whom were 2nd-year psychology students (M age, 20.5; SD, 3.67); the remaining 163 were students of engineering, geology, and business (M age, 21.2; SD, 3.6).

Mean ratings for each of the two statements and their corresponding standard deviations were as follows: First-year psychology students scored 2.5 on the medical statement (SD, 0.9) and 2.8 on the psychological statement (SD, 1). Second-year psychology students scored 2.5 on the medical statement (SD, 1) and 3.3 on the psychological statement (SD, 1.1). The nonpsychology students scored 2.7 (SD, 1.07) on the medical statement and 2.7 (SD, 0.9) on the psychological statement.

The mean ratings showed that students were generally more in favor of using animals for medical research than for psychological research. An independent groups t test confirmed this claim, t(331) = 3.16, p < .001. There was, however, a stronger disagreement among 2nd-year psychology students on the issue of using animals for psychological research than for 1st-year psychology students and nonpsychology students. A 3 x 2 (Field of Study x Statement) mixed analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted on the ratings, resulting in a main effect for field of study, F(2, 329) = 3.56, p < .02, a main effect for statements, F(1, 329) = 10.54, p < .001, and an interaction effect, F(2, 329) = 9.98, p < .0001. The significant interaction effect occurred because of the change in attitude toward psychological research on animals by 2nd-year psychology students.

The students were generally less in favor of research on animals in a psychological setting than in the field of medicine, in line with Furnham and Gunter's (1989) finding. We found it interesting that 2nd-year psychology students were less in favor of such research than 1st-year psychology students. Perhaps 2nd-year students had had more time to consider the issue and the pros and cons of animal experimentation, and had decided that it is probably not necessary to harm animals for psychological research.

There was, however, no difference in attitudes toward animal experimentation in a medical setting among any of the students. Moreover, there was no indication that being a psychology student, as opposed to reading for a degree in engineering, geology, or business, makes a difference in how research on animals in a medical setting is regarded.

REFERENCES

Archer J. (1986). Ethical issues in psycho-biological research on animals. Bulletin of the British Psychological Society 39, 361-364.

Compton, D., Dietrich, K., & Smith, J. (in press). Animal rights activism and animal welfare concerns in the academic setting: Levels of activism and the perceived importance of animal psychology. Psychological Reports.

Furnham, A., & Gunter, B. (1989). The anatomy of adolescence. London: Routledge.

Furnham, A., & Heyes, C. (1993). Psychology students' beliefs about animals and animal experimentation. Personality and Individual Differences, 15(1), 1-10.

Furnham, A., & Pinder, A. (1990). Young peoples' attitudes to experimentation on animals. The Psychologist: Bulletin of the British Psychological Society, 10, 444-448.

Gray, J. (1987). The ethics and politics of animal experimentation. In H. Beloff and A.

Coleman (Eds.), Psychological Survey 6. Leicester: The British Psychological Society.

Pearce, E., Fisher, M., & Baluch, B. (1993). Sex differences in change of attitudes towards brilliance and popularity amongst undergraduate students. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 76, 609-610.

Barnard ND, Stolz J, Baron L. Use of and alternatives to animals in laboratory courses at US medical schools. Journal of Medical Education 1988 Sept;63:720-722.

Bauer MS. A survey of the use of live animals, cadavers, inanimate models, and computers in teaching veterinary surgery. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 1993;203(7):1047-51.

A questionnaire, designed to gather information regarding the use of live animals, cadavers, inanimate models, and other innovative methods to teach veterinary surgery, was mailed to individuals in the surgery sections of all 31 veterinary schools in the United States and Canada. Of the 31 questionnaires mailed, 27 (87%) were completed and returned. Mean number of total, general, small-animal, and large-animal surgery laboratory sessions were 22, 5.9, 11, and 7.4, respectively. At 7 of 26 (27%) schools, animals were euthanatized prior to recovery from anesthesia in all teaching laboratories; in 18 schools (69%), small animals were euthanatized prior to recovery from anesthesia. In 4 (20%) of the 20 schools that offer large-animal laboratory courses, large animals were euthanatized prior to recovery from anesthesia. In 24 schools (88%), cadavers, models, or both were used in at least 1 laboratory session in their surgery training program. Models were used most frequently to teach suturing, knot typing, and hemostasis. Plastic bones were used in 8 (30%) schools to teach fracture repair. In several schools, models were used to teach other general psychomotor skills, and at several schools, models were available for sale to other teaching institutions. At 16 (59%) of the 27 veterinary schools, some type of program has been developed with local humane societies. At 13 (81%) of the 16 schools with such a program, small animals were euthanatized prior to recovery from anesthesia in their traditional laboratories. At 10 (37%) of the schools, some process was used to evaluate students in the laboratory, and at 5 (19%), course evaluations were completed by students taking the laboratory.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Bennett J. New survey shows Colorado students want a choice. Good Medicine 1994;3(3):6.

Of 110 medical students surveyed, 78% supported a student's right to choose not to participate in required terminal dog labs, and 32% felt that, given a choice, they would not participate in such labs.

Bowd AD. Dissection as an instructional technique in secondary science: Choice and alternatives.  Society and Animals 1993;1(1):83-88. See also: Lock R. Dissection as an instructional technique in secondary science: Comment on Bowd. Society and Animals 1994;2(1):67-73.

In a retrospective survey of 191 Canadian undergraduates, 69% were required to perform dissections in secondary school; 27% reported having exclusively negative reactions to dissection, and 38% reported both negative and positive reactions.

Brown LM. A demographic comparison of the perceptions of ninth grade students toward dissection and other uses of animals.  Thesis for Teacher Leader Program, College of Education and Human Services, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio. 1989.

Half of a group of 142 ninth graders responded that they would choose an alternative to dissection if provided and 90% believed that students should be given that choice.

Coulter, D. B.  Crawford, L. M. The use of animals in basic science teaching. [Journal article] Journal of Veterinary Medical Education. 1978. 5: 2, 67-69. 8 ref. 

Cunningham Paul F. Animal Use, Student Choice and Nonanimal Alternatives at "America's Best" Undergraduate Colleges. Teaching of Psychology 2003 Autumn;30(4):288-296.

Chairs at 262 prominent U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities (75% response rate) completed a questionnaire about animal use, student choice policies, and alternatives to the use of animals in undergraduate psychology education. Results indicated that a majority of institutions used animals in teaching, only a minority had choice policies within animal-based courses, and most schools used alternative learning methods, either as a substitute for or adjunct to live animal laboratories. This article discusses the educational policy implications of practices in the undergraduate psychology animal-based curriculum at "America's best" colleges, especially the common practice of advising reluctant students away from animal course work.

Dewhurst D. How can we encourage teachers to use computer-based alternatives: the UK higher education experience. ATLA 2004;32 Suppl 1:565-567.

Downie R, Meadows J. Experience with a dissection opt-out scheme in university level biology. Journal of Biological Education 1995 Sep 01;29(3):187-195.

This paper reports on a scheme where first-year university biology students are given a choice between dissecting a rat or opting out and doing an equivalent laboratory exercise using a model, Over five years, around 10 per cent of students have chosen to opt out of the dissection. Their examination results, even on questions related to the dissection, have not been significantly different from other students. An overwhelming majority of students in the class support the opt-out scheme. The decision on whether or not to opt out involves a discussion of the issues with peers and class demonstrators, and therefore acts as a valuable exercise in practical bioethical decision-making. This scheme may have useful lessons for all university biology course organizers.

Eldridge JJ, Gluck JP. Gender differences in attitudes toward animal research. Ethics and Behavior 1996;6(3):239-256.

Although gender differences in attitudes toward animal research have been reported in the literature for some time, exploration into the nature of these differences has received less attention. This article examines gender differences in responses to a survey of attitudes toward the use of animals in research. The survey was completed by college students and consisted of items intended to tap different issues related to the animal research debate. Results indicated that women were more likely than men to support tenets of the animal protection movement. Likewise, women were more likely than men to favor increased restrictions on animal use and were more concerned than men about the suffering of research animals. Analysis of item contents suggested that women endorsed items reflecting a general caring for animals, were more willing than men to make personal sacrifices such as giving up meat and medical benefits in an effort to protect animals, and were more likely than men to question the use of animals in research on scientific grounds. Men, on the other hand, tended to emphasize the potential benefits arising from the use of animals in research.

Fitzpatrick JL. Mellor DJ. Survey of the views of graduates (1993 to 1997) on the undergraduate veterinary clinical curriculum in the British Isles. Veterinary Record 2003 Sep 27. 153(13):393-6.

In 1998 a questionnaire was sent to graduates from all the veterinary schools in Great Britain and Ireland who had obtained their veterinary degree within the previous five years, to assess their opinions of the undergraduate clinical veterinary curriculum. Ninety-five per cent of the graduates who responded were working full time in veterinary practice, with small animal work occupying 90 per cent of them for a median of 70 per cent of their time. Their assessment of the curriculum suggested that they were generally satisfied, but that there were some subjects they considered important in which the teaching and extramural studies had failed to provide adequate learning opportunities. Twelve subjects were rated as 'very important', two subjects, small animal medicine and anaesthesia, were considered to be 'very well' taught, and extramural studies were considered to be 'very useful' for three subjects, small animal surgery, cattle medicine and cattle surgery. The survey provided evidence that graduates are keen to continue learning and specialise after they graduate.

 
Furnham A, Heyes C. Psychology students' beliefs about animals and animal experimentation. Personality and Individual Differences 1993 Jul;15(1):1-10.

Gilmore DR. Politics & Prejudice: Dissection in Biology Education, Part I. The American Biology Teacher 1991a;53(4):211-213.

Gilmore DR. Politics & Prejudice: Dissection in Biology Education, Part I. The American Biology Teacher 1991b;53(5):272-274.

Glick S. Medical students' attitudes about the use of animals for teaching purposes. Academic Medicine 1994 Sep;69(9):736-737.

Glick SM. Animals for teaching purposes: medical students' attitude. Medical Education 1995 Jan;29(1):39-42. Center for Medical Education, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Soroka Medical Center, Beer-Sheva, Israel.

Animal rights movements have increased the scope and intensity of their activities over the past decade. While it is generally assumed that doctors and other members of the health care professions favour the use of animals for science, few data are available. Student protests in various medical schools against use of animals in teaching laboratories indicated further need for objective data. A questionnaire about attitudes to the use of animals for teaching purposes was distributed to all the medical students at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, present during classes on a given day. All students present (200) returned the questionnaire (70% of the student body). Also queried were attitudes towards related subjects. A high percentage of medical students surveyed had significant reservations about animal experimentation for teaching purposes and about the preferential priority for human life over that of animals. These attitudes, if confirmed, have serious implications for educators both in the health fields and otherwise.

Hagelin J, Hau J, Carlsson HE. Attitude of Swedish veterinary and medical students to animal experimentation. The Veterinary Record 2000 Jun 24;146(26):757-760. Department of Physiology, Uppsala University, Sweden.

Nearly all veterinary and medical students (94 per cent) found it morally acceptable to use animals in research and believed it to be a necessity in order to treat human diseases. In contrast with the medical students a substantial proportion of veterinary students (40 per cent) considered themselves animal rights activists. Unlike the medical curriculum, the veterinary curriculum contains a two-week course in laboratory animal medicine, and a higher proportion of the students who had not been through this course was opposed to the use of animals in research than of the students who had completed the course. The course modified the views of half the students; more than 26 per cent of them became more positive towards animal use in research after the course, whereas 3 per cent became more negative.

Hedlund CS, Hosgood G, Naugler S. Surgical education: attitudes toward animal use in teaching surgery at Louisiana State University. Journal of Veterinary Medical Education 2002 Spring;29(1):50-55. School of Veterinary Medicine, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, 70803, USA. chedlund@mail.vetmed.lsu.edu.

Concerns over the use of animals in teaching have lead to a reduction in the number of live animal laboratories. A survey of 275 students and faculty was conducted to characterize their attitude toward the use of animals in teaching surgery. Respondents favored live animal use. They believed that model laboratories were helpful in learning aseptic technique and suturing skills but less helpful in learning tissue handling, dissection, hemostasis, or anesthesia.

Jukes N. Are animals necessary in biological education? ATLA 2004;32 Suppl 1:753-754.

Keith-Spiegel PC, Tabachnick BG, Allen M. Ethics and academia: Students' views of professors' actions. Ethics and Behavior 1993;3(2):149-162.

A survey of 482 undergraduates found that 62% felt that it would be unethical for their professor to require them to use electric shock on rats.

King LA, Ross CL, Stephens ML, Rowan AN. Biology teachers’ attitudes to dissection and alternatives. ATLA 2004;32 Suppl 1:474-484.

Lluka, L.  Oelrichs, B. Replacement and reduction of animal usage in teaching physiology and pharmacology at the University of Queensland.   [Journal article] ANZCCART News. 1999. 12: 2, 4-7. 4 ref. 

Lock R. Animal use in secondary schools in England: some comparisons with Australian high schools. Australian Science Teachers Journal 1994 Apr;40(1):21-23.

Lock R. Dissection as an instructional technique in secondary science: Comment on Bowd. Society and Animals 1994;2(1):67-73.

A review of comparative studies on dissection practices finds that dissection and vivisection should be discussed in the classroom.

Lord T, Moses R. College students' opinions about animal dissections. Journal of College Science Teaching 1994;23(5):267-270.

Of 200 undergraduates surveyed, 56% objected to performing live animal procedures and more than half said they would refuse to participate in the dissection of cats, rabbits or monkeys if the situation arose.

Mayer VJ, Hinton NK. Animals in the Classroom: Considering the Options. The Science Teacher 1990;57(3):27-30.

McKernan R.A.  Student opinions about the use of dissection in science classes. Planning, Research and Accountability report. Albuquerque Public Schools. 1991. 21 pp.

Of 972 respondents to a survey of high school students, 72% felt that students should be allowed to use dissection alternatives.  About 15-16% reported that they and/or other students asked for alternative lessons or to be excused from performing the dissection.

Orlans FB. NABT Policy "a Breath of Fresh Air". The American Biology Teacher 1992;54(3):134.

Orlans FB. Guest Editorial: Should students harm or destroy animal life? The American Biology Teacher 1988a;50(1):6-12.

Tsuzuki Miho, Asada Yukiko, Akiyama Shiro, Macer Nobuko, Macer Darryl RJ. Journal of Biological Education. 1998;32:119-126. http://www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/~macer/Papers/animalexpt.html (full text).

Attitudes to, and the practice of, animal experiments were surveyed in Australia (A), Japan (J), and New Zealand (NZ) in 1993. Mail response questionnaires were sent to a biology (b) and a social studies (s) teacher at randomly selected schools. The number of respondents and response rate were: NZb 206 (55%), NZs 96 (26%), Ab 251 (48%), As 114 (22%), Jb 560 (40%) and Js 383 (27%). Open questions looking at the images of bioethics, and the reasons why about 90% of teachers thought bioethics was needed in education, found more teachers expressed concerns about animal rights or experiments in New Zealand, then Australia, and least in Japan. Among the biology teachers, 90% in New Zealand use animals in class, 71% in Australia and 69% in Japan. About two thirds of all the samples said that they had had ethical concerns about animal experiments, which were examined in responses to open questions. The concept of humane use was expressed less in Japan than Australasia. 72% of biology teachers in NZ, 63% in Australia and 12% in Japan said there were guidelines at their schools for using animals in class. The impact of animal welfare guidelines is discussed, together with the general attitudes to animal use. Full results of the survey are available on Internet: <http://www.biol.tsukuba.ac.jp/~macer/BHS.html>

Millett K, Lock R. GCSE students' attitudes towards animal use: some implications for biology/science teachers. Journal of Biological Education 1992;26(3):204-208.

In a survey of 468 14 and 15-year-old students, 72.5% felt that it is wrong to breed animals for dissection, 83.5% felt that alternatives to animal experimentation should be found, and 38% "would object to any animal material being used for dissection."

Navarro JF, Maldonado E, Pedraza C, Cavas M. Attitudes toward animal research among psychology students in Spain. Psychological Reports 2001 Oct;89(2):227-236. Department of Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Malaga, Spain. navahuma@uma.es. Comment in: Psychol Rep. 2002 Apr;90(2):360.

Animal research plays a central role in psychology, and its use, prevalence and quality depends on the attitudes of students who enter psychology in Spain. Attitudes among psychology students about the use of laboratory animals are not known, so the aim of this work was to analyze the attitudes of Spanish psychology students toward animal research. An attitude questionnaire of 15 items was given to 661 undergraduate students of the School of Psychology at the University of Malaga, Spain. Several results were found: (a) 65.7% of the respondents strongly agreed or agreed with animal research. General support for animal research was significantly higher by men than by women. (b) Support for animal research was higher for senior students, suggesting that the psychology curriculum or self-selection to remain in the program might influence students' attitudes. (c) Attitudes toward animal research were similar among students independent of the type of animal being used for research in biological or psychological studies. (d) 58% considered that laboratory animals never or almost never are inappropriately handled. (c) 55.6% indicated that research in psychology on animals could be generalized to humans. Overall, these results suggest that among Spanish psychology students animals research is considered important for the advancement of the science. Likewise, a majority of students displayed positive attitudes toward animal research.

Orlans FB. The three Rs in research and education: a long road ahead in the United States. Alternatives to Laboratory Animals: ATLA 1996 Mar-Apr;24(2):151-158.

Padmavathi R, Maruthy KN, Borghona S, Vaz M. The perceptions of first-year medical students on animal and human experiments in physiology. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology 1998 Jan;42(1):127-130. Department of Physiology, St. John's Medical College, Bangalore.

This study was conducted to ascertain the attitudes of first year medical students to human and animal experimentation, while undergoing a course in Muscle and Nerve experimental Physiology. At the time of administration of the questionnaire, students had been exposed to both human as well as animal experiments. Approximately 81% of the students preferred human experiments (P < 0.05). This preference, however, was related more to the issue of enjoyability rather than the extent to which the experiment contributed to overall understanding and learning. 55% of students identified ethical issues related to laboratory experimentation. Gender and academic performance were not determinants of student's attitude to animal and human experimentation, although ethical insight was. The results suggest that while students recognize the importance and value of animal experiments, they would prefer the introduction of a larger number of human experiments.

Paul ES, Podberscek AL. Veterinary education and students' attitudes towards animal welfare. The Veterinary Record 2000 Mar 4;146(10):269-272. Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh. Comments: Vet Rec. 2000 Mar 11;146(11):327; Vet Rec. 2000 Mar 18;146(12):355; Vet Rec. 2000 Mar 18;146(12):355.

Veterinary students at two British universities in their first preclinical, first clinical and final years of study, completed questionnaires designed to assess their attitudes towards the welfare of animals. These attitudes were divided into their two constituent components: emotional (emotional empathy with animals) and cognitive (belief in the sentience of animals). Analyses of variance revealed that the year of study was significantly related to the perceived sentience of dogs, cats and cows, with students in their later years of study rating them as having lower levels of sentience. The female students rated themselves as having significantly higher levels of emotional empathy with animals than did the male students. There was also a significant interaction between sex and year of study, the female students maintaining relatively high levels of empathy throughout the three years, whereas the male students showed lower levels of empathy in their later years.

Schillo KK. Teaching animal science: education or indoctrination. Journal of Animal Science1997 Apr;75(4):950-953.

Self DJ, Olivarez M, Baldwin DC Jr &  Shadduck JA. Clarifying the relationship of veterinary medical education and moral development. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 1996;209(12):2002-4.

The defining issues test (DIT) was used to survey the moral reasoning of 98 veterinary medical students at the beginning and end of their education. The DIT scores ranged from 8.3 to 70.0 for first-year students and from 16.7 to 76.7 for fourth-year students. The first-year mean was 44.0 and the fourth-year mean was 45.4. The mean change of +1.45 points was not significant. There was no significant correlation between the moral reasoning scores and age; however, there was a significant correlation between the moral reasoning scores and gender, with females scoring higher on the first and second test. The difference in the rate of change between tests by gender was not significant. It is suggested that these findings are in agreement with an earlier study suggesting that veterinary medical education inhibits an increase of moral reasoning in veterinary medical students.

Smith W. Use of animals and animal organs in schools: Practice and attitudes of teachers. Journal of Biological Education 1994;28(2):111-117.

In a survey of 106 Australian schools, 34 preferred observational or behavioral studies to animal experimentation, and natural habitats to classroom settings.  Over half of the respondents reported ethical objections to dissection, and students nauseated by it.

Solot D, Arluke A. Learning The Scientist's Role: Animal Dissection in Middle School. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 1997:26(1):28-54.

This study of the responses of sixth graders to fetal pig dissections concluded that the exercise risks fostering callousness towards animals and nature, and that it may dissuade students, especially girls, from pursuing careers in scientific fields.

Stanisstreet M, Spofforth N, Williams T. Attitudes of undergraduate students to the uses of animals. Studies in higher education 1993 Jun 01;18(2):177-196.

This article reports the results of a questionnaire study of the attitudes of university undergraduate students to various uses of animals. The majority of students objected to the killing of animals to make luxury clothing, but accepted the killing of animals for food. Many students disapproved of circumstances which confine animals. About one-sixth of biology students objected to animal dissection; about two-thirds disapproved of animal experimentation in general terms. However, students apparently employ the idea of `necessity' in making judgements, so that fewer students objected to animal experimentation for medical research.

Stanisstreet M, Spofforth N, Williams TR. Attitudes of children to the uses of animals. International Journal of Science Education 1993;15:411-425.

Welsford IG, Flamm AE, Barr J, Fenton B, Wright JR, Kellerman LR. Investigative approach to frog gastrocnemius laboratory: potential impact on animal use in teaching laboratories. The American Journal of Physiology 1995 Dec;269(6 Pt 3):S42-S49. Department of Biology, Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois 61625, USA.

With growing concern over the use of animal experimentation in the teaching of physiology, many biology departments are reassessing the use of animal experiments in the teaching lab. However, it may be just as important to assess how animal experimentation is used in the undergraduate teaching laboratory rather than simply assessing if animal experimentation should be used at all. In our study, sophomore-level life science students enrolled in a core organismal biology course undertook a laboratory exercise designed to elucidate properties of muscles and neuromuscular communication following two protocols: 1) a standard demonstrational model wherein students were told to undertake the exercise as a means to understand physiological processes that they had been exposed to previously in lecture or 2) an investigative model wherein the use of the gastrocnemius preparation was a logical next step in an ongoing investigation, the content of which was driven by student-generated hypotheses. We have observed a significant decrease in a number of the negative comments concerning the use of animals in experimentation (25.6 vs. 3.6%) since the implementation of the investigative approach to the laboratory, suggesting that curricular approaches to the use of animals in the teaching laboratory may have an impact on student attitudes concerning animal experimentation.

Willis LR, Besch HR. Effect of experience on medical students' attitudes toward animal laboratories in pharmacology education. Academic Physician and Scientist 1994 March;11-13.

A survey of 144 medical students showed that while most students found dog-labs to be helpful, 22% felt that this use of animals is morally wrong.

Willis LR, Besch HR Jr. Effect of experience on medical students' attitudes toward animal laboratories in pharmacology education. Academic Medicine 1995 Jan;70(1):67-69. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis.

BACKGROUND. Medical students' attitudes toward the use of animal laboratories in pharmacology courses may form a useful source of evaluative information about the laboratories' educational effectiveness. METHOD. In 1992-93, 144 second-year students at the Indiana University School of Medicine were surveyed--before and after completing four hands-on laboratories using dogs--for their assessments of educational and moral aspects of animal laboratories. Statistical analysis involved chi-square and Student's t test. RESULTS. Of the 144 students in the course, 143 responded to the first survey and 86 responded to the second. From before to after the lab experiences, the percentage of students who agreed that the labs would reinforce/had reinforced the lecture material increased from 38% to 69%. In both surveys, 10% of the students objected to the use of any animals in labs, and 24% (before) and 21% (after) objected to the use of dogs. Whereas the percentage agreeing that the labs involved a morally wrong use of animals rose from 11% to 22%, the percentage disagreeing with that notion rose from 53% to 61%. Between 50% and 60% of the students in both surveys opposed doing the labs by computer simulation or videotaped demonstration. CONCLUSION. Most students indicated that the laboratory experiences enhanced their understanding of the actions of drugs, were preferable to alternatives that did not use animals, and did not involve an immoral use of animals. On the other hand, the results suggest that the number of students who have negative feelings about the use of animals in laboratories, though small, tends to be larger than the number who express these feelings to faculty.

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