Zoology is what I'm doing my graduation in. We learn about all kinds of animals - even minuscule little icky creatures which you'd never imagine can be called 'animals'.
We have been dissecting animals right from the initial few days in college - cockroaches, earthworms, prawns, fish, pigeon heads, frogs, rats...
In the final year, in our subject of Physiology, we are supposed to record a frog's heart beat. Now, for the froggy's heart to keep beating - it has to be alive - and the poor little thing's heart has to be removed from the body.
How do you think we manage to do that? In the most brutal, horrifying way. It is the stuff done by psychopath killers to their victims..and worse..
A frog (alive and healthy and kicking) has to be held by its legs and slammed on a flat surface. Twice. Thrice.
All this slamming does the following things to the poor creature :
1. Stuns it.
2. Makes some of its blood splatter.
3. Damages its skull.
4. Makes its tongue hang out in the most heart wrenching way.
Stunning it is what is required for the rest of the experiment procedure. Next it is pinned and/or a pin is pushed through its brain so that it doesn't move about when one is going to tear him up. Then follows a complicated set of steps requiring pushing pins through the heart, ligating the main veins etc.
I absolutely hate doing any of this.. Many others do too..my classmates, students who have been through this already. Nobody has been able to do anything about this outrageous practice of wasting hundreds of frogs' lives.. and all of it for a completely useless purpose of studying a frog's heart beat - something that can be done simply through a text book!
Teachers don't seem to see reason here. Venting out the exasperation regarding the insensitivity and unwillingness of the teachers to understand logic would require another post though.
Till anybody of consequence decides to do anything of consequence about this deplorable physiology experiment, we'll continued to be blackmailed to kill poor froggies.. as it so happens..this particular practical experiment carries a hell lot of marks in the exam. Will be soon posting a video showing some of the above mentioned atrocities on frogs - not for the weak of heart that video.
We have been dissecting animals right from the initial few days in college - cockroaches, earthworms, prawns, fish, pigeon heads, frogs, rats...
In the final year, in our subject of Physiology, we are supposed to record a frog's heart beat. Now, for the froggy's heart to keep beating - it has to be alive - and the poor little thing's heart has to be removed from the body.
How do you think we manage to do that? In the most brutal, horrifying way. It is the stuff done by psychopath killers to their victims..and worse..
A frog (alive and healthy and kicking) has to be held by its legs and slammed on a flat surface. Twice. Thrice.
All this slamming does the following things to the poor creature :
1. Stuns it.
2. Makes some of its blood splatter.
3. Damages its skull.
4. Makes its tongue hang out in the most heart wrenching way.
Stunning it is what is required for the rest of the experiment procedure. Next it is pinned and/or a pin is pushed through its brain so that it doesn't move about when one is going to tear him up. Then follows a complicated set of steps requiring pushing pins through the heart, ligating the main veins etc.
I absolutely hate doing any of this.. Many others do too..my classmates, students who have been through this already. Nobody has been able to do anything about this outrageous practice of wasting hundreds of frogs' lives.. and all of it for a completely useless purpose of studying a frog's heart beat - something that can be done simply through a text book!
Teachers don't seem to see reason here. Venting out the exasperation regarding the insensitivity and unwillingness of the teachers to understand logic would require another post though.
Till anybody of consequence decides to do anything of consequence about this deplorable physiology experiment, we'll continued to be blackmailed to kill poor froggies.. as it so happens..this particular practical experiment carries a hell lot of marks in the exam. Will be soon posting a video showing some of the above mentioned atrocities on frogs - not for the weak of heart that video.
i have experienced the same..!...my friend even cried by seeing how brutally the frogs are stunned :(..i hope smday it gets banned...amen..!
ReplyDeleteAmen! :)
ReplyDeleteYes pukeworthy education indeed:) I was a student of biology as well and hated dissection of animals and that too in a cruel way. Piercing the nails on it,cutting it, and what not. At times I even felt why I had taken this subject. Atleast in the coming generations to come the practicals could be changed to video tutorials. That would definitely help.
ReplyDeleteVery true, I am always in favour of video tutorials for dissections! Even suggested that to my teachers..but well!
ReplyDelete