PETA Paying For Virtual Frog Dissection Equipment In India

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has decided to foot the bill for sponsored software that will allow students in India to virtually dissect a frog without actually killing a real one.

PETA has offered to sponsor the software for any schools and colleges in India who simply give students the option to cut into a real frog or use virtual software to reach the same goal.

The company will also support the software cost if other “humane methods” of dissection are observed.

The software known simply as Frog Dissection is developed by Emantra and is priced at $2.99 to $4.99 in the United States. The cost of the software in India was not listed at the time of this post.

PETA is specifically targeting India because the country’s University Grants Commission (UGC) recent asked that animal dissection and experimentation be phased out over the long term. The UGC also asked that computer simulations be used instead.

According to PETA India Science Policy Adviser, Dr Chaitanya Koduri

“Countless frogs and other animals are killed for dissection, even though non-animal methods for teaching biology are far superior. PETA India is eager to help universities and schools take the lead in teaching biology using humane, modern methods.”

The software created by Emantra’s was chosen because of its scale. For example users can install the software on PCs, Macs, iPads and interactive whiteboards. Frog Dissection also includes 3D imaging, dissection instructions and detailed views of organs.

Do you think students should learn about anatomy by performing real dissections or through the use of more humane computer simulations?