RSPCA tells schools ‘no pets’
May 30th, 2008 Posted in Pet GamesThe classroom guineapig faces extinction if schools follow new advice from the RSPCA urging an end to the tradition of taking the natural world into schools.
School pets may be harmed by constant touching from excited pupils and poor living conditions, the charity warned yesterday.
Animal welfare can be taught in schools without live animals, it said, urging teachers to replace the school pet with soft, animal-shaped toys.
In a new checklist for the welfare of school pets, the charity said animals are often kept in unsuitable conditions, exposed to too much - or too little - direct light and may even become lonely.
“Studying an animal in its natural environment should aim to cause minimal disturbance whilst maximising educational opportunity,” it said. “Contact between pupils must be supervised and controlled and animals should have adequate ‘rest’ periods away from disturbance.”
The animal welfare group also said that if a school does keep animals, one named person should be responsible for their welfare at all times, instead of entrusting pupils to look after them at weekends or over holidays.
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Tags: adequate rest, animal welfare, animal welfare group, animals, bet, charity, educational opportunity, extinction, guineapig, holidays, live animals, minimal disturbance, natural environment, Pet, pets, pup, pupils, rest periods, rspca, school pets, spca, toys, tradition, unsuitable conditions, welfare
