Video of Students Jumping Rope with Cats’ Intestines Prompts PETA Action

High School in San Antonio Pressured to End Cruel Classroom Dissection

For Immediate Release:
May 17, 2016

Contact:
Tasgola Bruner 202-483-7382

Following disturbing videos that were posted to SnapChat showing students at Winston Churchill High School playing “jump rope” with the intestines of dissected cats apparently used in their anatomy class, PETA is calling on the school to replace all animal dissections with humane non-animal methods. You can watch the videos here and here.

In a letter sent to the school’s principal this morning, PETA points out that behavior that makes light of the suffering and mutilation of animals is not only disturbing but also violates leading science education organizations’ guidelines, which state that classrooms must treat animals respectfully and ethically. PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to experiment on”—has offered to donate digital dissection resources to help the school transition to animal-free classrooms.

“Studies show that classroom animal dissection can foster callousness toward living beings, and these gruesome ‘jump rope’ videos are a particularly sad example,” says PETA Senior Director of Youth Outreach and Campaigns Marta Holmberg. “PETA is calling on Winston Churchill High School to teach its students to respect life and science by replacing crude and cruel animal dissection with humane and effective non-animal teaching methods.”

Non-animal educational tools, such as interactive computer programs, have been shown to teach biology as well as—and, in many cases, better than—dissection. They also save teachers time and money while increasing students’ confidence and satisfaction. The National Science Teachers Association endorses the use of modern non-animal methods as replacements for dissection.

Every year in the U.S., an estimated 10 million animals are killed for classroom dissection, including cats, who are often purchased from animal shelters and could have once been someone’s companion. Frogs are often stolen from their homes in the wild, and other animals—such as rats and mice—are bred by the millions in biological supply houses.

PETA’s letter to Winston Churchill High School and broadcast-quality video footage are available upon request. For more information, please visit click here or visit PETA.org/Dissection.