Victory! Oakton Community College Cuts Out Cruelty November 6, 2009

Posted by Ryan at November 6, 2009 4:36 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

When PETA was contacted by a compassionate student at Oakton Community College nine months ago and they told us horror stories about students in anatomy and physiology classes cutting open live rats and mudpuppies (no relation to sea kittens), we jumped into action. We reminded the administration that using live animals is both cruel and ineffective for teaching, especially when so many scientific non-animal alternatives are widely available.

Well, our e-mails and petitions have paid off, because this week OCC confirmed that they would stop the use of ALL live animals in the classroom! As a result of OCC's decision, countless animals, like the happy character you see below, will be spared a lifetime of misery and a needless death under a student's scalpel.

shiachat / CC

Of course, not all schools are as progressive as OCC. Some colleges are still stuck in the stone age (*cough* ASU *cough*)—despite pleas from students to join the 21st century. Don't they know—biology is supposed to be the study of life, not death?

"Cut Out Dissection" Action of the Week: Get Creative! October 26, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at October 26, 2009 1:24 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

If you love animals and hate dissection, this action of the week should be easy for you.

We'll give you 1,000 Street Team points just for sending us an example of something creative you've done to raise awareness about the dissection industry. You might bake some vegan cookies shaped like frogs, make your own "Cut Class, Not Frogs" shirt or bag with this stencil (we can also send you one for free if you earn enough Street Team points), write a poem about why the dissection industry sucks, record yourself freestyle rapping on behalf of the animals, or paint something related to dissection.

Honestly, do whatever is fun, legal, and makes sense to you. Then e-mail us at StreetTeam@peta2.com with what you've done and we'll give you 1,000 Street Team points!

Here are some pictures to inspire you ...

Photobooths are more fun when you're wearing peta2 stickers!


A+ for nice use of a prop!


DIY bag.

What's that? You don't believe that anyone would write a creative poem about dissection? Well, what do you call this?

Cutting up animals in school is dumb.
I don't see how anyone
could take a scalpel to a cat.
Or to a pig, frog, or rat.

It's really sad that animals die.
I wish schools would just try
alternatives since they teach so much better.
And you won't be spilling animals' blood on your sweater!

OK, let's see what you've got! Oh, and don't forget our new leaflets!

Help Us Reach Our Goal! October 22, 2009

Posted by Marta at October 22, 2009 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack

Since it's "Cut Out Dissection" month, I'm sure you've already participated in the past three "Actions of the Week" and you just can't wait to do more (right?!). That's what we like to hear!

Well, you're in luck, because we need your help with our SocialVibe "Cut Out Dissection" goal for the month of October! Each point raised on SocialVibe represents one frog and we have a goal of saving 300,000 frogs (meaning, virtual frogs). peta2 supporters have currently saved 100,334 frogs, so let's keep it up!

Don't have a SocialVibe account yet? Sign up right now! When you choose peta2 as your Cause on SocialVibe, you'll be helping to raise funds that'll get donated to peta2 to help animals! Here's what to do:

1) Sign up at SocialVibe.com/peta2. (If you're already signed up, you can switch your Cause to peta2.)
2) Pick your favorite company to act as the sponsor.
3) Get the badge for your MySpace or Facebook profile, or even your own website or blog.
4) Post the badge (as long as you have the badge on your profile you will be earning money to support our work).
5) Invite your friends. This will really help a lot to get more points going toward this goal.

Already on SocialVibe with peta2 as your cause and looking for more ways to earn points toward this goal? Awesome! Make sure you log into your account each day and update your status, answer the daily question, and visit the forums—all of these actions will earn more points each day. And be sure to check out the list of Activities you can do to earn lots more points (you'll see them listed on your dashboard when you log into your account).

Remember, we really need your help to raise awareness about the millions of animals that are killed each year for school dissections. Animals like cats, frogs, and pigs are cut up in classrooms even though humane alternatives exist. Help us spread the word and save animals by reaching our goal on SocialVibe!

Thanks!

Enter to Win a Digital Dissection Alternative for Your School! October 22, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at October 22, 2009 11:18 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

rainforest_harley / CC

All throughout October we've been giving you easy ways to help animals at school. From handing your friends our new 'Cut Class, Not Frogs' leaflets, to sharing the undercover investigation, 'Classroom Cut-Ups' online! Without a doubt, buzz has been raised. So what's next?

After you've gathered petitions, and told everyone how cruel and just plain backwards (how can teachers claim dissection teaches about life, by forcing you to chop up a corpse?) dissection is, your school will want to know what the other options are.

You can check out our page on all of the alternatives here, so you can give them the lowdown—and right now, you have an exclusive chance to help your school win a copy of Digital Frog 2.5 from Digital Frog International! This will give your school the inspiration it needs to see that ordering hundreds of corpses every semester—when they could just use a program year after year—just doesn't make any sense.

How does it work? Have your teacher e-mail Info@TeachKind.org by October 31 (they'll contact the winner on November 4) with the reason why your school deserves to win this contest! Please also make sure your teacher includes their name and address. The most passionate entry will win. Be sure that your teacher also reads our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as they're agreeing to both by e-mailing us their entry!

Good luck!

"Cut Out Dissection" Action of the Week: Update Your Status! October 19, 2009

Posted by Marta at October 19, 2009 10:53 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

By now, you're all well-aware that it's "Cut Out Dissection" month (at least, I hope you are!). First we had you hand out leaflets (1,000 Street Team points), then we had you share "Classroom Cut-Ups" (1,000 Street Team points). What's next?

We want you to update your Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace with why you choose not to dissect. Here are just a few examples:

• I choose not to dissect because there are so many humane alternatives available these days!
• Six million animals are killed and processed by biological supply companies each year, so I choose not to dissect to save lives.
• I choose not to dissect because I care about animals and because studies have shown that students who use alternatives to dissection perform just as well (if not better) than those who cut up animals.

So whatever your reason is, be sure to let all of your friends know by updating your status (and don't forget to include this link so people can get more info!). Then all you gotta do is take a screen grab of your status update and send it to us at StreetTeam@peta2.com for 1,000 Street Team points.

Easy, right?



P.S. Be sure to log into your SocialVibe account and get active to support this month's "Cut Out Dissection" goal! Don't have a SocialVibe account yet? Sign up now to start helping raise funds for peta2 without spending a dime!

ASU Students Rally Against Dissection! October 12, 2009

Posted by Ryan at October 12, 2009 4:15 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack

When Kirby Mauro found out that professors at her school were encouraging students to cut holes in rabbits' chests, inject them with various drugs, and then kill them, she was horrified. Thankfully, as one of the leaders of STAAR (Students Taking Action for Animal Rights) on campus, she was in a position to do something about it.

She and her other group members started gathering petition signatures, encouraging the school to replace the cruel experiments with scientific non-animal alternatives, which are widely available.

Last week, she even confronted the University president about the issue during an open forum, asking him why he's allowing his school's reputation to be dragged down by refusing to join the 21st century.

Well, Kirby's efforts haven't gone unnoticed. In today's issue of The State Press—the student newspaper at ASU—she's on the front page!

Click on the image for the full article.

Pretty awesome, right?

If you want to help Kirby and her group succeed, make sure to sign the petition against ASU here, and then leave your words of encouragement below.

Here, I'll start: "Kirby, you ROCK!"

Your turn.

Cash Cash Signs Dissection Petition October 7, 2009

Posted by Megan Rondeau at October 7, 2009 1:14 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 5 ) | TrackBack

As you all know, October is not only the start of hoodie weather and Halloween festivities, it's also Cut Out Dissection Month! This is the month when we here at peta2, along with all of our amazing street teamers and supporters, focus all our efforts on the fight to get humane alternatives to dissection in every school. Whether in high school biology labs or on the most prestigious college campuses, we want every student to have the right to morally object to dissecting an animal and be given an acceptable, alternative assignment.

We've already had celebs like Steve-O jump on board for this campaign to speak up for students and animals, and now our boys in Cash Cash have signed our petition to cut out dissection!

Jean Paul and Sam of Cash Cash

'Cut Out Dissection' Action of the Week! October 5, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at October 5, 2009 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

Are you really excited about 'Cut Out Dissection' month, but not sure where to start? peta2 is here to help! Every week for the month of October, we'll be giving you simple, fun and life-saving (literally), actions to do for the six million frogs, pigs, cats, mice and other animals who are dissected in classrooms across the country.

If you live in any of these states: California, Florida, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont or Virginia, you have the right not to dissect, so half the battle has already been won! Now, you just need to voice your disgust at cutting up corpses in the classroom, and respectfully demand an alternative—after all, it's your right.

Print out our brand new state specific leaflets here and hand them to everyone in your science class—and if you're not in science, hand them to at least ten of your friends at school! Our new state specific leaflets have the state name and policy on them—so your school knows you mean business!

E-mail us at StreetTeam@peta2.com and let us know what what state you're in, what school you go to, and how it went, and we'll give you 1000 Street Team points!

If you're not in any of the above states, you can use the leaflets we have available here to 'Cut Out Dissection' in your school!

Animals everywhere thank you!

It's 'Cut Out Dissection' Month! October 1, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at October 1, 2009 3:50 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

You know October is 'Cut Out Dissection' month, right?

Help stop the suffering frogs like this endure at the hands of the dissection industry.
wikipedia / CC

What is that? Every year, 6 million animals like pigs, frogs, cats, and other animals, are killed to be cut up and mutilated in classrooms across the country, even though more humane, and less disgusting and cruel methods exist. October is the perfect time to get started with your campaign to help stop dissection in your school!

What can you do? If you live in a state that has a dissection choice policy allowing you to opt out for an alternative, print out of our state specific leaflets here. These leaflets will help you talk to your teachers and principal about a humane alternative to chopping up corpses in class. Not sure if your state allows you the right to not dissect? Cllick here to find out! If your state isn't on our list, no fear! We'll send you our re-designed 'Cut Class, Not Frogs' leaflets for free! Just e-mail us at peta2@peta2.com!

If you haven't yet, check out our brand new anti-dissection ad with Steve-O and share it on Facebook and everyone you hang out online.

Let's make this the best 'Cut Out Dissection' month yet! Do you have any plans for helping frogs and other animals at your school?

Steve-O Launches His New Anti-Dissection Ad September 30, 2009

Posted by Patricia at September 30, 2009 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

This afternoon our pal Steve-O helped us kick-off "Cut Out Dissection" month by launching his awesome new print ad at Fairfax High School in Los Angeles.

Steve-O wants everyone to know that animals killed for dissection suffer terribly before they reach the science lab. He also wants all you students out there to know that you have the right to refuse to dissect animals. So just say, "No!" and encourage your teachers to offer alternatives for the thousands of students around the country who are opposed to cutting up animals.

As you can imagine it was quite the scene today. Please, hanging out with Steve-O? Where do I sign up?! Check out the pix from today's launch.