The See-Through Animal Trend

by Stephanie Feldstein · 2010-01-17 09:00:00 UTC
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Japanese scientists have bred a translucent goldfish. The see-through swimmer joins the clear-skinned frog that was similarly bred a few years ago as an alternative to dissection for high school students.

Supposedly these animals were created in response to pressure from animal rights groups, but is creating see-through species really an improvement over dissection? At the time the frog was announced, scientists noted that only 1 in 16 frogs ended up transparent. What happened to the other 15 frogs it took to get that one? Or to all the animals used by the lab before this experiment was ready for a press release? The list of ways these animals will be overbred and killed without ever teaching a single child can go on and on. The large goldfish are said to have a lifespan of up to 20 years, but between being bred in labs, shipped around the world, and used in classrooms, how many are likely to live that long?

Breeding animals for the sole purpose of ending up in classrooms really isn't progress. Just because they don't go under the knife doesn't mean that they're not research animals. Japanese scientists aren't denying this as they try to expand their market beyond the classroom, pointing out that medical researchers could also use the fish for "an inside view of how diseases, particularly tumors, progress in the body."

There are plenty of non-animal alternatives to dissection. With interactive tools like Digital Frog, there's no reason for any live animal to be used in a high school classroom. If computer modeling is good enough for scientific researchers, who are increasingly turning to non-animal methods, it should certainly be good enough for teenagers.

Photo credit: Yutaka Tamaru

Stephanie Feldstein is a Change.org Editor who has been part of the animal welfare and rescue community for over a decade, and most recently worked for an environmental organization.
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