PASCO COUNTY, Fla. — Students at J.W. Mitchell High School were the first to dissect new, synthetic frogs made by SynDaver on Wednesday.
- SynFrogs offer alternative to dissecting real frogs
- Students at Mitchell High School were first to use them in classroom setting
- SynDaver developed the synthetic frogs
- More Pasco County stories
The frogs, called SynFrogs, are realistic-looking fake frogs that can be used in classrooms to replace dissecting real frogs. According to SynDaver, the SynFrogs don't have harmful chemicals or odors and they're safe to use.
On Wednesday, 100 students dissected the synthetic frogs. Each one has removable organs that mimic those of a real frog.
"It doesn't have that really bad smell. It's not real, so it doesn't freak you out so you actually want to do it," said Ally Cook, a student at Mitchell High School.
"This has been created as to mimic live tissue so everything is fresh and has the right color [in the] the right location," said David Danielson, the VP of Veterinary Technology at SynDaver.
"There's really going to be no reason to use live frogs anymore," said Christopher Sakezles, CEO of SynDaver.
Each SynFrog costs about $150. Preserved frogs for dissection are available online for less than $10, but Sakezles says SynFrogs can be put back together and reused.
"The school can keep them, the student can bring them home, they can be used as a reference," said Sakezles.
J.W. Mitchell High School will be using the SynFrogs moving forward.
PETA is a funding partner for SynDaver. According to a representative from PETA, it's estimated nearly three million frogs are killed each year for classroom dissections.