New clothes and a new crush may get many students excited about school, but the surest way to make someone dread biology class is to mention that cruel old standby, dissection.

Since Steve-O knows that only a "jackass" would force a kid to cut up an animal and call it "science," the Wildboyz star was on hand outside Fairfax High School in Los Angeles this afternoon to kick off Cut Out Dissection Month.

His new ad aims to empower kids to fight for their rights not to dissect on animals and to pressure educators to provide alternatives to dissection.

Every year, nearly 6 million animals, including frogs, rats, pigs, and cats, are cut open in cruel, outdated dissection exercises that teach students to dismiss concerns about animal suffering. It's no secret that many violent offenders, including serial killers get their start abusing animals.

Kinder, more effective alternatives to dissection exist and offer students the opportunity to focus on learning instead of cringing through animal cut-ups. In fact, I'm willing to bet that if all schools implemented only humane biology lessons, students would forever remember that this duodenum, not this one, is found in their small intestine.

Posted by Karin Bennett

P.S. More pics of Steve-O's unveiling after the jump.

The BBC has just unveiled its "Wildlife Finder," a Web site it bills as "the world's biggest online zoo." To create the "zoo," which so far includes 370 different species of animals (with more to come), the BBC has compiled video footage from hundreds of wildlife documentaries, including the blockbuster hit Planet Earth.

mirror.co.uk / CC

Unlike a "real" zoo, with its bored animals gazing out blankly from concrete cells and cramped cages, BBC's Wildlife Finder captures animals in their own habitats—from the rain forests of Chile to the volcanoes of Papua New Guinea. No more peering through cage bars trying in vain to catch a glimpse of a sleeping lemur or waiting for the hippos to come up for air. BBC's Wildlife Finder includes footage shot with underwater and infrared cameras to capture nocturnal and deep-sea animals doing the things that they do naturally—things they never get to do in a zoo.

So far, the most popular animals are proving to be the meerkats (who doesn't love meerkats?), Darwin's frog (a Chilean frog whose males give birth through their mouths—all of which is caught on tape, of course), and the New Guinea jumping spider, who is shown jumping onto a cameraman.

Gather the kids around the PC and check out the online zoo today. They'll learn a heck of a lot more than they would at the local wildlife penitentiary.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

The Internet was ablaze yesterday with "did he or didn't he" talk about Wednesday's episode of The Glenn Beck Program, in which Glenn Beck appeared to boil a frog alive on national television. Was the frog fake? Did Beck actually throw a real frog into a pot? Who would do something like that?

Given that Glenn has a history of showing compassion toward animals, we were sure that he would not throw a defenseless frog into a boiling pot of water. But because enough people were fooled by his prank, we asked him to make a statement on his show explaining that it was a ruse.

And last night, in a segment he called "Frog-Gate 2009," (a possible shout-out to "Flygate"?) Glenn Beck did just that—he replayed the whole segment, read our letter to him aloud, and clarified that the frog he appeared to boil alive was just a plastic toy.

Thanks for setting the record straight, Glenn! Now, could we trouble you to have a little talking-to with those real-life frog abusers over at Brookstone …?

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Imagine being sealed inside a clear coffin, bubble-wrapped, packaged in a box and sent through the mail on a terrifying journey to an unknown destination. Jostled around, forced to endure the summer heat while sitting in a delivery truck, and living in your own waste. If you can imagine this, you have some idea of how the little frog in this video feels.

This traumatized or now dead frog is a 'replacement' for another who died in a Brookstone Frog-O-Sphere. Despite public outrage and PETA protests, the body count continues to rise as Brookstone refuses to stop peddling live animals.

Urge Brookstone to send these Frog-O-Spheres packing and immediately implement a policy against selling live animals at all of their stores. If you know anybody who has misguidedly purchased these poor frogs only to watch them helplessly suffer and die, please inform them to request a chargeback on their credit card as Brookstone defers responsibility and costs for deaths and 'replacements' to the breeder.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

This week's "Win It" Wednesday prize is ThinkGeek.com's fantastic (and fake) "Jellyfish Mood Lamp," a mesmerizing, humane alternative to Brookstone's tiny torture chambers for frogs and snails, aka Frog-O-Spheres.

cnbc / CC

We've got one to give away. In the comment section below, copy your polite but firm letter to Brookstone explaining why you won't be visiting its stores until it clears its shelves of Frog-O-Spheres. The writer who submits the most compelling defense of frogs and snails will nab the prize.

The contest ends on September 30, 2009, and we'll choose one comment as the winner on October 2, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.

Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

Despite complaints from thousands of concerned consumers, undercover photos of frogs living in decrepit conditions, reports of dying frogs, and a run-in with the law in New Jersey—Brookstone still refuses to stop selling its cruel Frog-O-Spheres.

As the death toll mounts, we're turning up the pressure:

PETA's giant frog showed up at a Boston Brookstone to let the company—and potential customers—know that he's hopping mad.

These Boston College students won't be shopping at Brookstone anytime soon.

Kids, Just Say "No" to Brookstone.

Please urge Brookstone to immediately stop selling Frog-O-Spheres and implement a policy against the sale of any live animals at Brookstone stores.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Anyone out there know of a gadget that makes rotten retailers stop selling live frogs and snails in tiny prisons? Anyone?

Didn't think so. That's why we're calling on you to drop whatever you're doing right now and tell gadget magnate Brookstone to stop selling Frog-O-Spheres ASAP!

Despite complaint after complaint, Brookstone—a company that apparently has a heart of stone—is continuing to "package" frogs and snails together in pitiful plastic prisons and sell them to customers who don't have a clue about how to take care of these extremely delicate animals.

A distraught Brookstone employee has sent us undercover photos and horrifying details confirming that frogs and snails are sold with little regard for who will care for them:

"Most parents will exclaim right in front of me that they are not going to help the child to care for these living creatures. Then when I offer to sell them the additional food they will tell me flat out that the frogs won't live that long. It kills me that these frogs that can live to be 15 years old [won't] even last 1 year as a pet in a controlled [environment]."

The whistleblower went on to describe how animals are forced to languish and suffer on Brookstone's shelves without any veterinary care:

"We did have a frog that had a growth on its bottom. We eventually transferred that aquarium to the stock room and the frog died. No vet was called …. There is absolutely no policy or [veterinary] contact in my store for sick frogs. … [W]hen they do die we are told to "flush" them. … The snails die even more frequently. We have a bag full of over 15 snails that have died in the last month."

But, hey, no worries—if Kermit dies before his 30-day warranty is up, Brookstone will replace him for free! So long as you have your receipt, just flush and replace.

Let Brookstone know that these frogs aren't just a drop in the bucket. Please take action now!

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

columbia / CC

Brookstone store employees—many of whom are straight out of high school, not vet school—are the sole caretakers of these animals while the Frog-O-Spheres are in the stores. According to Brookstone's head honchos, the only time these frogs receive any "care" is when employees briefly peer into the Frog-O-Sphere to check on the animals' condition. After performing these spot checks, employees are instructed merely to write down whether the frogs are "expired," sick/injured, or healthy. Despite any store's claim that it has a veterinarian on file (per the Frog-O-Sphere SOPs), sick or injured frogs never receive medical attention. Instead, these animals—who are sensitive to sound and even minimal changes in temperature—are merely stashed in the back of the store until they either die or recover on their own.

Turns out this is illegal—in the Garden State, at least.

We did some digging and discovered that pet shops in New Jersey are required to provide veterinary care for sick or injured animals and must be licensed with the township in which they're located—both are details that Brookstone seems to have missed.

After we brought this to the attention of NJ authorities, PETA received word from across the state that inspectors were on the case (PETA quickly confirmed that a Princeton-area Brookstone has no license on file, and alerted local health authorities, who immediately issued a cease and desist order to the store.). The state's Office of Animal Welfare has also taken an interest in this matter because Brookstone was informed about the various permits that were needed before its stores even began selling these tiny torture chambers, but the company failed to obtain them.

Click here to tell Brookstone that it's time to stop selling living beings at all its stores.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Since we posted our action alert about Brookstone's boneheaded decision to sell live frogs and snails who are confined to minuscule "Frog-O-Spheres," we've heard from lots of people who've confirmed our worst fears about the likely fate of these animals.

Brookstone has admitted that they aren't screening potential "Frog-O-Sphere" customers, and their woefully inadequate recommendations for care—changing the water twice a year and feeding the frogs twice a week—are leading to snap decisions by unprepared people, as is likely the case with the person who posted this comment on Brookstone's Web site:

"[T]he snail died in about a week (but really, who cares?). And the recommended 2 pellets a week is not enough (the frogs are so hungry they don't move to conserve energy). When I started tripling their recommended meals, they became very active and cool. … Hopefully, they'll last until I can buy a pet snake and feed them to it."

People who are a bit more kindhearted have been flooding PETA with calls and e-mails about frogs and snails getting sick or dying, while callers to Brookstone's customer service department who complain that their frogs appear to need medical attention are merely told to put the frogs in a separate bowl. Those who call about dead frogs and snails have been told that they should throw the corpses in the garbage and that new animals can be shipped or picked up at their nearest location. As a testament to Brookstone's level of care, "replacement" animals are sent through the mail and handed to customers at the stores in plastic sandwich bags.

Other well-meaning folks are asking whether they should release the frogs into the wild, but putting non-native species into area waterways and habitats can wreak havoc on local ecosystems.

The continued sale of Frog-O-Spheres poses a clear threat to these vulnerable animals. Please add your voice to those of people who are demanding that Brookstone stop selling live animals once and for all.

Posted by Jeff Mackey