It started with a topic, ‘people and their beliefs’ and a Year 3/4 class at Rosehill Public were faced with the daunting task of exploring what society believed about animals . They stumbled upon local issues including the use of exotic animals in circuses and jumps races and had to decide what their personal beliefs were.
Into the picture came RSPCA NSW Education in the form of Education Officer, Eva, to give the class RSPCA’s perspective on animals and what they believe as an animal welfare organisation. The class were introduced to animal cruelty from the eyes of those who deal with it on a daily basis and began to witness the gap between how they personally would treat animals and the minimum standards set by law.
Discussion around the ‘Five Freedoms’ sparked thoughts around what animals should be afforded in life. Sure the basic stuff like food, water and shelter but howabout a chance to exhibit natural behaviours and avoiding situations which cause mental suffering? These were the quandaries for the day as the class were introduced to the world of the battery hen.
Even many adults are unaware of the issues and how they can help caged hens but one student came to the following realisation:
“So if everyone stopped buying cage eggs, the farmers with caged hens wouldn’t be able to sell their eggs and would have to change to free range?”
Spot on. The consumer has the most power when it comes to improving the layer hen welfare but it is up to them to use their powers for good and not evil.
This amazingly aware class did not stop there when it came to helping animals. Their awesomeness cannot be contained in this one blog entry so stay tuned to find out what else they did...
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| I wonder what they're holding there... |
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