To think animal welfare should be added to the National Curriculum?

[SparkleSunshine201]

I was shocked to read that incidents of animal cruelty are increasing. I realise that educating children on animal welfare should start at home, but it's surprising that a number of children aren't being taught the basics, i.e. that animals have thoughts and feelings and can suffer and feel pain, just like us.

There is a petition about adding animal welfare to the national curriculum. I think it could really help children to be aware of how to treat animals humanely.

You can sign the petition here: petition.parliament.uk/petitions/170481

What do you think?

I would be happy if schools actually treated the pets in classrooms properly. Many school guinea pigs and other small animals are in far too small cages.

I also think those posters are right though.

Kids these days cab work pretty much every gadget known to man. Better than me on many cases.

Kids as young as 1 are dab hands with an I pad or kiddizoom camera or tablet of some kind.

Even if people have little or no exposure to animals they still grow up with the ability to think for themselves and are taught early on to go look things up . Nursery's have piles of books. Schools have piles of books alot of towns have libraries which are free

The Internet is available in a second opinion one of the fifty devices most households have.

If someone remotely cares at all about anything they at least know that they need to look up information and they know how to do that.

Pet cages come with fact sheets. Hell how to feed an animal is written on the box ffs. It won't be the most detailed information granted. It won't be advising of the best brand if food but says enough that they know how to not starve their pet.

The sad fact is we cannot and will not ever reach every body

It would be lovely if we could. It would be amazing if everyone was kind to humans and animals alike. But some people don't give a shit and know they aren't taking proper care of their pets and will carry on regardless. They cab post a pic on face book they can send the ur parents lol is of toys tegy want fir Xmas. It's not that they don't know how to look after a pet it's not that they don't know how to find out how to take care of an animal. They don't care.

There is itching you can do about a persons lack of empathy or caring towards living creatures. Nothing. Even without giving a shit they can still choose to not have anything to do with animals.

Although information is freely available on the net, most people still take their advice from pet shops that sell too small cages and sometimes dangerous or unsuitable toys.
Generally for small caged animals, you need a much much bigger cage than pet shops sell. And pet shops often sell single animals that should not be kept alone. The reality is many many adults do not understand how to care properly for their pets.

We all do thinks every day that no ever taught us to do or had no exposure to or any prior knowledge.

What we are consistently taught in life though is how to access information. And it's easier now than ever befire.

It all comes down to caring enough to find out or to try.

thats what you can't teach.

I think we need to realise this and step up with the consequences.

The punishments for animal cruelty are pathetic. There is no deterrent to mistreat your pets. The one organisinsation that is meant to care doesn't give a shit.

Whilst you can cause untold pain towards animals and kill them and walk away with a six month ban on keeping pets there's no amount of petitions and demanding schools take over that's going to do any good whatsoever

Gileswithachainsaw Thats exactly what you can teach. Its how we have passed on the knowledge of animal breeding and care for countless centuries.
For example, the old horse traders used to use luck money. Each horse had a cash gift that was passed to the new owner. It used to be a point of pride to increase the luck with each sale. It demonstrated that the horse left you in better condition and more highly trained than when it arrived.

There are agricultural shows with classes and prizes for the best stock. Young competitors are encouraged by the older ones. they cant win without setting themselves high standards.

If you need a cash incentive or "prize" in order to want to learn how to take care of something not be cruel towards it then I'm. Sorry I have to wonder how much you cared in the first place.

It's not as simple as reading how to care for an animal. Yes it can be done, but things like gentleness and actual caring as in feeling a need to make this animal comfortable because he means something to you isn't learned from a book, that is learned through the experience of having an animal to care for and having those behaviours modelled. If a child is raised In a home where dogs are kicked then having the experience elsewhere of actually seeing what caring Rather than just possessing an animal looks like then you stand a good chance of establishing a desire to break that cycle of animal abuse or mistreatment.

But I agre that bringing it into school curriculum is ridiculous unless there was also to be a massive overhaul of the law regarding animal ownership and abuse. Which there won't be.

But pets aren't some experiment in whether you can overcome what you have seen and learnt so far.yoi can't go taking on pets hoping you will love it and these feeling of caring will magically appear. And exposure to that side of it is something only friends or family can provide anyway.

And actually a fair few parents on MN seem to object to animals in the classroom.
Hundreds of threads on dogs at school gates or in the classroom.

Much better tackled by having ads on national tv - a bit like the old "dont play on train tracks" of old.

Can't see why on earth adding it to the curriculum would help. At least if it was on national tv feckless parents would see it too.

Is animal abuse actually increasing? Or is it just because it seems that way because every fricking third post on Facebook seems to be concerned with it?

But pets aren't some experiment in whether you can overcome what you have seen and learnt so far.yoi can't go taking on pets hoping you will love it and these feeling of caring will magically appear.

I wasn't suggesting giving every child a pet!!

And exposure to that side of it is something only friends or family can provide anyway.

It can be (and is)done in the classroom.

That's providing parents give permission.

We had to consent to dd being able to be involved with the class pet.

Would not support this being added to national curriculum.

We don't have pets. If we decided to go out and buy a hamster or a pony it would be OUR responsibility to know what we were doing. It's not up to schools to educate children for every possibility and eventuality they are going to encounter as an adult (or not as the case may be), it is up to schools to teach responsibility and self-reliance, and not to expect to be spoon fed everything.

And besides, the responsible pet owners who are looking after their pets properly don't need to be told to do this, the crappy owners who are keeping animals in poor conditions don't care.

And obviously there's a huge difference between spending a few weeks for the one yr you are in that class holding a guinea pig once a week and something that's an actual subject.

Class pets are fab (if properly cared for)

But parents Do need to consent and some won't always do so.and of course it's not garuntee these feelings of love and wanting to be gentle and take care will happen.

Sadly there are people who just don't. And that's what I'm getting at.

Giles I have already agreed I shouldn't be on the curriculum. I am just stating that the care can be taught in the classroom. I'm not talking logistics or permission slips, I was countering another posters assertion that it can't be taught. It can. That's all I'm saying.

It* shouldn't. (I shouldn't either! That would be an awful life lesson )

This is just one more example of things children should be taught by parents that someone wants to turn into a schools problem instead.

Don't be ridiculous.

Great idea as long as you're also adding in educating them re: being vegetarian, unless you're going to teach alongside what you've suggested that while 'animals have thoughts and feelings and can suffer and feel pain, just like us...those things don't matter if you want to eat them'.

The other point is, you don't need to teach children animal welfare to stop animal cruelty, you just need to teach them not to be cruel. Which is not the schools job.

It's really interesting that lots of people are arguing against this because it's obvious we should be nice to animals, or suggesting that animal care is done through exposure to pets.

That's all well and good, but none of those things is animal welfare education, and it's really clear from reading this thread that the vast majority don't seem to know what animal welfare is. Which in and of itself is an argument for more effective animal welfare education.

suggesting that animal care is done through exposure to pets

Can you clarify what this sentence means please? Animal care is done through exposure to pets/animals. If you aren't exposed to them then you can't actually be caring for them can you?

What animal welfare do you think people need to know? If we had pets, we'd learn how to look after them properly. We don't have pets, so in our house animal welfare knowledge pretty much extends to "don't touch other peoples without express permission and supervision" and a general concept of be kind to animals.

What exactly would you fill this new subject with, and what would you take out to make room for it?

Animal welfare in the National Curriculum, I ask you! Maybe when you have sorted out the basics for all kids, like maths and science?