The use of animals in teaching for college, veterinary and medical education in the USA has sharply declined in recent decades. Economic disincentives and public discussions have diminished this use of animals, as well as the growing availability of alternative resources for teaching. In the USA, the use of live animals in teaching at the post-secondary level requires a protocol review similar to that used for research, whereas protocols are not required for the use of non-living specimens. Many outstanding alternatives have been created that supplant some uses of animals. Creating alternatives for a comprehensive biological or veterinary curriculum can best be addressed by a long-term commitment of leadership at the institutional level, leading to an incremental development of alternatives. Economic realities and the demonstration of educational results equal to, or exceeding that of the consumptive uses of animals support supplanting the more traditional methods. Committed leadership at the University of California, Davis, has facilitated the development of teaching tools and the mainstreaming of alternatives within the standard undergraduate and veterinary curriculum. The institutional culture supports these resources, and finding further solutions requiring less consumptive uses of animals. We introduce here a web-based tool providing improved access to these resources: www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/Animal-Alternatives/main.htm.

Throughout pre-college education in the United States, animals, animal specimens and animals as a topic are used as teaching resources. Residential or visiting pets play a role in humane education or cross-curricular instruction. Teachers acquire and utilise non-living specimens gathered from various sources. Field trips often are oriented around animals. Elementary school animal use is largely observational; in intermediate grades, animal dissection may be featured in general science instruction. At the higher grade levels, animals may be used in science fair projects in an experimental sense. Particularly appealing,to teachers is that throughout these uses, animals motivate students. The uses of animals in classrooms reflect the teachers' interests. In the United States, the use of animals in pre-college instruction is not regulated, leading sometimes to inappropriate use. At the University of California, Davis, a pilot programme is assessing curricula, resources and a model prototype to provide administrative guidance on the use of animals in pre-college education. Appropriate animal use would be enhanced by: providing information resources with efficient links to obtaining educational materials; and establishing guidelines for animal use in pre-college education to ensure the animals' welfare. A web-based tool provides access to resources (www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/Animal-Alternatives/main.htm).