by Wendy S. Weiss

How many of you have a dog?
Hands would shoot up in the air, and phone-obsessed teenagers perked up with interest.

How about a cat? Raise your hands…

Students have a keen interest in animal welfare. Prior to my recent retirement, I spent the last decade and a half bridging animal awareness into all facets of my lessons. I taught English in one of the most ethnically diverse high schools in the United States, and whenever the topic of animals came up, all students were engaged.

While teaching Shakespeare’s Othello, we examined how Cassio lost his reputation. I bridged this with pit bulls and how their reputation was lost (through no fault of their own). We learned to form a thesis: One’s Reputation is in Direct Correlation to His Actions, and we practiced paraphrasing and quoting skills as we read articles about the infamous Michael Vick, examining how he ruined his reputation when he engaged in the illegal activities of the cruel and deadly pit bull fighting (see Appendix).

In journalism class, we examined muckrakers and current-day whistleblowers. Some students were already familiar with Upton Sinclair’s 1906 novel, The Jungle, which exposed the horrors of the meatpacking industry. With footage obtained by current-day whistleblowers, I showed my classes videos of beagles being tested on in laboratories and videos of tubes being forced down tiny beagles’ throats. My students were shocked and horrified—some driven to tears. They had no idea that such inhumane and painful torture of animals was even happening.

Educators still maintain a great deal of autonomy while teaching various skills in their subject matter. Humane education is mandated by the state.

If you are a teacher, I implore you to incorporate awareness of animal testing into your lessons so we can unite in our quest to end harmful beagle experimentation and animal experimentation of all kinds.

If you are a parent or anyone interested in ending the cruel and inhumane practice of animal testing, urge the school board, principals, and teachers to consider incorporating some of these ideas into the curriculum. Surely, there are animal lovers in the schools around you.

These ideas are merely an outline, and each teacher can follow the guidelines for their school’s lesson plan. These suggestions can also be carried over to other subject areas. Teachers can guide students to do their own research or instruct students about prior knowledge needed for the assignment. These concepts can be scaled up or down according to grade level.

English Classes

I. Write a letter/email.
A) Write an email to your local congressperson, senator, or legislator asking them to support The Modernization Farm Bill 3.0.
B) Write emails to the current administration urging the end of animal testing.
C) Write to companies that you like (make-up, laundry, hair care, cleaning products, etc.), urging them to stop testing on animals.

II. Journalism Classes or Social Studies – A lot of schools have law programs and law classes.
A) Whistleblowers

  1. Students can be shown or create their own slideshow exposing the horrors of laboratory facilities.
    • Sources: Movie – The Animal People or clips from social media posts from PETA, The Humane Society, or the ASPCA.
      B) Examine TV media and social media.
  2. What type of coverage is given to laboratory testing/animals?
  3. What was The Envigo Trial?
  4. Follow the trial of Ridglan Farms.

III. Regents Exams
A) Create a practice Regents exam where students take a side.

  1. Should laboratory testing on animals be banned?
  2. Should laboratory beagles be adopted into homes after experimentation?
  3. Are NAMS (Novel Approach Methods) more conclusive than animal testing?
    a) Find three articles that examine each side.
    b) Students practice reading comprehension, paraphrasing, quoting, and maintaining an argument.

IV. Create a Podcast
A) Investigate & follow how a bill becomes a law.

  1. Modernization Farm Bill 2.0
  2. Modernization Farm Bill 3.0
    B) What kinds of institutions use animals in experiments?
    C) What are the alternatives to experiments on animals?

V. Research the history of animal testing.
A) 1938 requirement to use dogs and other animals as part of the process to obtain a license for new human drugs.
B) Animal testing mandates with the Food and Drug Administration.
C) Who are the breeders of laboratory dogs in the U.S.?

  1. Envigo
  2. Marshall BioResources
  3. Ridglan Farms
    D) What are alternatives to animal testing?
    E) What apps and sources can help us find cruelty-free products?

VI. Create an advertisement for a cruelty-free product.

  • Consult Cruelty-Free Kitty or another source to see if the parent company tests on animals or uses third-party testing.
    A) Use poetic skills to sell the product.

VII. Write a children’s book from the perspective of a laboratory beagle.

Film Classes (or Social Studies)

I. View the 2019 Documentary The Animal People (produced by Joaquin Phoenix).
This film can be used to:
A) Teach various aspects of documentary filmmaking.
B) Launch a debate: Is animal testing still necessary?
C) Discuss: Should animal rights protesters have a right to peacefully protest?
D) Analyze: How does corporate America seek to silence animal rights protesters?

(And so on…)