Miley Cyrus is pretty infamous for baring it all, but her little sister Noah Cyrus takes it one step further in a new anti-dissection PSA campaign for PETA2! In the graphic poster, 15-year-old Noah poses as a cadaver with her skin peeled away, exposing her rib cage and organs. “I AM NOT A CLASSROOM EXPERIMENT” reads the bold text before continuing below with, “Neither are cats, frogs, rats, pigs, or other animals killed for dissection. Please choose not to dissect.”
The PETA2 website explains the motivation for the #DissectionKills movement:
The dissection industry kills more than 10 million animals every year. The animals are bred in warehouses, stolen from the wild, bought from animal shelters, or cut from their mother’s wombs. After being killed, they’re pumped full of chemicals to preserve their bodies. That’s no way to learn about life! You can be scientifically minded and learn about animals and anatomy—and see what their insides look like (if you’re into that sort of thing)—without hurting them.
There are tons of modern, humane alternatives to dissection. From an educational perspective, alternatives are superior to cutting open a dead animal—and are very cost-effective for your school, too—because computer programs can be used over and over again. You can go back and review your work. And these days, you can study via computer anywhere!
In addition to the finished poster, there is also a behind-the-scenes “making of” video revealing how Noah was prepped for the shoot:
“Because I love all animals so much,” Noah begins, “I feel like they should realize they don’t have to cut into something to learn about it.”
She later reveals, “My friend had to [dissect animals] for her college program to be a vet, and she had to cut off, like, a tail off of a little lamb, and a pig, and dissect a cow! That’s terrible! I would never want to do that. You’ll learn so much more off of the computer. If you have the other option, why not take it?”
The poster and the video are great, but I think PETA2 and Noah Cyrus should consider the next step and turn the #DissectionKills idea into a game for kids:
