| Industry | Science and Math Supplies |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1927 |
| Founder(s) | Dr. Leo Dewitte Martin and Dr. Thomas E. Powell, Jr |
| Headquarters | Burlington, NC, USA |
Carolina Biological Supply Company is a supplier of science and math education materials to teachers, college professors, home-school educators, and professionals in health and science-related fields in the United States.
Contents |
Carolina was founded in the 1920s by two professors at Elon College (now Elon University), Dr. Leo Dewitte "Dick" Martin and Dr. Thomas E. Powell Jr. During the 1920s, science teachers had to collect most of the materials they used in their classes and laboratories, which took considerable time away from their primary responsibilities.
Like other teachers, Dr. Powell was spending much of his own time in the field gathering specimens for his classes. Because he usually got more than he needed, he sold the surplus to his colleagues. The two young professors saw an opportunity and founded the company, making it their full time profession in the 1930s and carrying it intact through the Depression. It was very much a hands-on effort: Dick Martin led the company's first specimen collecting expeditions—as far afield as Alaska—while his wife Ann drew the illustrations for the early catalogues (including the squid that became the company's logo).
The founders eventually parted company, with Dick Martin moving back into academia (with a brief turn through the Manhattan Project) and Thomas Powell staying on to build the company into what it is today.
A 1990 investigation by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) revealed that the largest suppliers of animals for dissection depend on Class B dealers to keep their inventory stocked. Investigators documented deplorable conditions at a catteries operated by dealers John H. Wise and his cousin, Al Wise. Abusive conditions included live cats housed in filthy cages with dead cats. Al Wise sold cats to Carolina Biological Supply Company. Although CBSC facilities claimed to deal only with euthanized animals from local pounds; video revealed that deliveries of live cats (some wearing collars) were common.
Strays and feral animals are picked up by Class B dealers or "bunchers", who sell them to laboratories for vivisection (or to CBSC for dissection). An estimated 2 million animals a year are stolen in the United States, often out of their own yards in broad daylight. CBSC provides an on-line catalogue which features dead cats.
Carolina Biological works in partnership with educators and scientists to provide materials needed for science and math education, including:
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=People_for_the_Ethical_Treatment_of_Animals] http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Carolina_Biological_Supply_Company]