I am a Biology student in my 1st Semester, and I’d like to take this opportunity to share my opinion/experience with the course “Structure and Function of Animals.”

I chose to study Biology because I have always been fascinated by the world and especially the life that surrounds us.

I grew up in a family that always had animals. From exotic aquariums to classic rodents and birds, and especially cats and our own kittens. I therefore always had an understanding of animals and especially a strong emotional connection.

Of course I was also confronted with the death of animals (illness/old age), and each time it was a horrible experience. I felt the urge to understand animals better and help them.

With this, I’m trying to express how much animal well-being means to me. And still, or maybe because of this, I was very POSITIVELY surprised by this course.

Due to the - usually ;) - very professional approach and explanations of the instructor, I felt very well prepared for the tasks.

It was surprising that he also conveyed that it was possible to have the “tension” between “I care for and about the animals” and “I’m now going to cut open this animal to explain its function to other people.” He also made it clear to us that the animals were never “senselessly” killed just for us. Most of them were “products” from the food industry or very old animals that were kept at the university for research purposes.

Of course there were moments when my heart bled a little and I felt sorry for the animals or felt bad about dissecting them. But I absolutely agree with the argument that no picture or movie in the world comes close to live dissection when it comes to teaching effects and visualization.

Personally, I was able to take much more away and was very surprised by the professionalism of those responsible for the course and the efforts to make everything as humane as possible. Only a few of the student assistants sometimes made jokes or unnecessary / mean comments - maybe better training would be appropriate here.

A lot of people call this the “cutting course” and make arguments about animal torture, etc. I think, though, that if you can later help a lot of animals or people with the knowledge you gain, then it’s worth the sacrifice of the animals. As long as you value it!

Especially since they are really very careful to make sure that no animal has to suffer unnecessarily (at least they assured us of that).

Please excuse the really long response - but I hope that I was able to give you an idea of the “Structure and Function of Animals” course from the perspective of an animal-friendly sympathizer.

Carolin, 1st semester, Biology