High school students nationwide who dread the animal biology portion of their curriculum may have a hard time relating to Katrina DiNicola. The 11-year-old Waukegan resident already has dissected a squid and can`t wait to tackle her next assignment, a frog.
”I liked cutting the squid open last year,” said Katrina of the traditional scholastic practice of studying small animals, such as earthworms, by cutting them open. ”And I`m looking forward to doing a frog.”
But not if Joan Sliter has her way.
On Saturday, Sliter and about 10 demonstrators from a group called Peaceable Kingdom carried placards at the entrance to the Shedd Aquarium to protest a frog dissection class the aquarium has conducted at least once a year for the last two decades.
”This is how Jeffrey Dahmer started,” said Sliter, president of the non-profit animal rights group. ”It is wrong, shows no concern for the animal, and doesn`t teach children anything that they couldn`t learn from a textbook or video. Frog dissection is a sad commentary on our society.”
The demonstrators may have been looking to impress this point on the students, but Shedd officials leapfrogged the protest by re-scheduling the class several weeks ago to Sunday.
The class, for children in the 3rd grade and above, studies the amphibian, its physiology and environment by dissecting the frog`s anatomy, according to Shedd spokeswoman Lisa Elkuss.
Shedd officials said they do not condone cruelty to animals and intend the course to foster a better understanding of nature.
”I can relate to some of what they are saying. There are other ways to study frogs,” said Tom Lincoln, who conducts the classes. ”But it`s just not the same thing as seeing how things work up close yourself. What we are trying to do is get children interested in science. And it seems to be working.”
This year, more than 20 families signed up for the 1 1/2 hour class at the aquarium..
