CU-Boulder Ends Deadly Animal Experiments After PETA Campaign
University Stops Killing Hundreds of Animals a Year in Human Physiology Courses, Formalizes Opt-Out Policy for All Classes
For Immediate Release:
September 15, 2014
Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382
Students at the University of Colorado–Boulder (CU-Boulder) no longer have to cut up and kill animals in class after complaints filed by PETA and a widespread public outcry led to a university-wide review of the school’s curriculum.
Following the in-depth curriculum review, which took place from 2013 to 2014, the university voluntarily ended human physiology course exercises in which students not only cut off frogs’ heads and experimented on the animals’ nerves but also cut open live rats in order to apply drugs to their exposed, beating hearts. More than 600 animals were used every three years for these experiments, which have now been replaced with non-animal teaching methods.
In other courses that have not yet ended animal laboratories, CU-Boulder now requires that students be given the opportunity to opt out — penalty-free — of these exercises and instead complete non-animal assignments.
“PETA applauds CU-Boulder for taking a step in the right direction by fully replacing some deadly classroom experiments on animals with humane teaching methods and ensuring that students in other classes are given the option to say no to hurting animals without being penalized,” says PETA Director of Laboratory Investigations Justin Goodman. “Modernizing the science curriculum by implementing sophisticated simulation tools and other effective, economical non-animal methods benefits students, animals, and educators.”
The curriculum review by CU-Boulder included input from PETA and university scientists regarding the many benefits of non-animal teaching methods, which have been shown to teach better and cost less than cruel animal laboratories.
The University of Colorado–Denver doesn’t use any live animals in classroom experiments.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
