Research objectives: the article analyzes the experience of using alternative means of teaching biological disciplines, the purpose of which is to partially or completely replace biological objects in educational practice with their visualized copies. Object of study: ethical approach as a leading approach to the teaching of biological disciplines. It is based on the idea of ​​minimizing harm and risk to animals as objects of study when organizing training in biological disciplines. Subject of study: the experience of using ready-made alternative teaching aids obtained in the framework of international cooperation and creating their own in teaching biological disciplines to students. Research results: tested alternatives obtained in the framework of international cooperation, identified difficulties and limitations of their use in teaching university students, created alternative means of teaching plant physiology - a video sequence of domestic experiments on plant physiology. The quantitative results of the intermediate and final certification of students allow us to state the preservation of the average score in the disciplines «Anatomy and Physiology» and «Methods of Teaching Biology» in comparison with previous years. The quantitative results obtained make it possible to judge the effect of the applied alternatives on the degree of formation of subject competence of students. Assessing students' understanding of the ethics of alternative means used, their importance in the formation of elements of teacher's professional competence lies in the area of ​​further development of the topic.