Here in Belgium , it seems to be done in every junior high school .
In October , my daughter had to do it on a rabbit ! When you know that her pet is a little rabbit (our Billie !!!) , you will understand how upset she was ....... ! Next year , a dissection of a fish is planned . I hope this won't bother her that much .... and I surely hope that fish will be more "fresh" than the one I had to work on at that age ; it smelled awful !!!!!!!!!!!
If I had my say in this matter , I would forbide this practise !! The student can as well learn this on plastic animals or from scetches !!!!

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