Others include dogfish sharks, perch, rats, pigeons, salamanders, rabbits, mice, turtles, snakes, mink, foxes, and bats. Invertebrates include crayfish, grasshoppers, earthworms, clams, sea stars, squid, sea urchins, and cockroaches. One U.S. biological supply company sells more than 170 different species of preserved animals. Some dissection exercises involve animal parts rather than whole animal bodies. Animal parts including cows' eyes, hearts, and lungs and sheep brains are sometimes obtained from slaughterhouses.
Some teachers use chicken wings from the supermarket.
Sources of Animals Most animals bound for dissection are taken from their natural habitats. Industry Methods Secrecy shrouding the operations of biological supply companies and their suppliers makes information hard to obtain. What is known of the procurement of animals used in dissection indicates that abuse and suffering are widespread. Although CBSC officials had repeatedly claimed that the company handled only dead cats, the video shows live cats being roughly prodded into crowded gas chambers. It also shows rats struggling in restraining racks as they are embalmed alive and documents large, fully alive crabs being injected with deadly chemical preservative.