Today, in classrooms across the country, many elementary and secondary school students participate in demonstrations and research projects with nonhuman animals.
Of course, with the decision to use live animals for teaching and research purposes comes a responsibility to care humanely for them and to minimize pain or discomfort whenever possible.
Because many psychologists conduct animal research, the American Psychological Association has established the Committee on Animal Research and Ethics (CARE), a committee whose mission is to help safeguard responsible research with nonhuman animals. In response to this charge—and in the hope that all professional educators help protect the welfare of nonhuman animals used in research and teaching—CARE has developed guidelines for the use of nonhuman vertebrate animals in behavioral projects in K–12 schools.