pets programme for schools

[Guest guest]

Education: Pets programme for primary schools - The Sunday Mail

 

By Jeswant Kaur jeswant

05 May 2002

 

 

" The affluency of a country is seen by the manner in which the animals are

kept. " - Gandhi

 

THIS is a quote often used by veterinarian Dr S. Sivagurunathan, to remind the

public just how low animal welfare awareness is among Malaysians Dr

Sivagurunatan, 60, who is also the Malaysian National Animal Welfare

Foundation (MNAWF) deputy chairman, will soon be using more of the above quote

to propagate animal welfare education among primary school pupils.

 

The foundation's school programme on pet education has been approved by the

Education Ministry and is expected to kick off in five primary schools in the

Klang Valley by this year.

 

The participating schools are: Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Damansara; Sekolah

Kebangsaan Jalan Semenyih (2); Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan © Serdang Baru (1);

Sekolah Kebangsaan Sri Petaling and Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan (T) Vivekananda.

 

" To us, schools seem the perfect place to start this education programme

because we can effectively influence the thinking of our children while they are

still young. Also, through this programme we can keep children away from the

streets, " says Dr Sivagurunathan who has been in the job for 30 years and is

author of a book called Pets Have Feelings Too.

 

The foundation will also be assisted by Universiti Putra Malaysia's Faculty of

Veterinary Medicine.

" We will require volunteers to go to schools and talk to children about animal

welfare. The more impact the better. Programmes shown on television channels

such as Discovery Channel, National Geographic and Animal Planet have had a

major affect on children - it has resulted in younger children wanting to

become animal doctors. "

 

As a preliminary launch to the programme, MNAWF organised a Children and Pets

programme for school children and the public in March at the Malaysian

International Pet Expo 2002. The foundation also held a colouring contest

titled My Favourite Pets and an essay-writing competition on My Pet

Is Our Family Member - for children from Standard One to Three and Standard

Four to Six, respectively.

 

" The response from the children was fantastic. They realised the value of

animals as pets and to us, this is a very encouraging start, " says Dr

Sivagurunathan.

 

He adds: " There are three objectives we hope to accomplish through this

programme in schools.

 

" One is to create a wider awareness of and respect for all living things and

the environment. The next is to promote human-animal interaction as part of

child development and thirdly, to inculcate responsible and caring attitudes

through education. "

 

Through the programme, MNAWF also hopes to help children experience and

understand the importance of being a responsible caretaker, feel confident and

to feel comfortable around animals.

 

" Our aim is to reach out to as many children as possible. We want to erode the

phobia which some children may have for animals. And we are more than willing

to work with any environmental and other Government agencies in generating

awareness on animal welfare among the young. "

 

" Caring for pets also helps promote tolerance and self-acceptance and provides

an early lesson on the facts of life and death.

 

" Through pets, children learn how to care for another living being and that

in turn helps boost their self-esteem, increases their socialising abilities,

gives these youngsters a sense of responsibility and makes them feel less

lonely. In the long run, children can be moulded into caring and loving

adults, " he points out.

 

Dr Sivagurunathan says the programme will also be carried out through the

activities and programmes of existing clubs in schools like Kelab Pencinta

Alam and Persatuan Sains.

 

" The programme will be held at least once a month in the schools. "

 

 

Interactive programme

 

The pet awareness and interactive programme will include a talk on pets and

pets care, visits by pupils to zoos, agricultural parks, animal shelters, pet

shops and pet shows where they get a chance to interact with animals and are

exposed to different types of animals and their habitat.

 

Topics to be covered under the programme include the discovery of animals,

basic needs of animals, animal welfare issues, choice of pet, responsible pet

ownership, value and use of animals, interaction with animals and caring for

the environment.

 

The animal welfare education programme for schools is a follow-up of

successful pet therapy projects previously conducted by the Veterinary

Association of Malaysia, Department of Veterinary Services, Majlis Kebajikan

Masyarakat and Feline Society of Malaysia in various welfare homes.

 

Says Dr Sivagurunathan: " It involved providing pets in welfare homes for

residents to play with and take care of. And caring for the pet helped develop

their self-esteem, increased their socialising abilities and gave them a sense

of responsibility.

 

" The effectiveness of the pet therapy projects prompted the foundation to get

the involvement of children.

 

" Through the programme, there will be opportunities to develop healthy and

meaningful companionships between people and animals and at the same time

provide education on responsible pet ownership. "

 

From his three decades of experience as an animal doctor, Dr Sivagurunathan

says that due to a lack of social interaction with animals, the general

awareness on animal welfare among the public is low.

 

" Children will react by seeing how their parents treat animals. If families show

no compassion towards animals, then there will be a problem of animal

mistreatment. To me, animal cruelty is a by-product of how we treat animals and

it can be dealt with if children are given proper education on how to interact

with their pets.

 

" In the '70s, pet owners had no qualms disposing of their dogs or cats if

these animals became ill. The attitude was that these were just animals and

could be easily replaced.

 

" Today, however, I see a different group of pet owners, who are responsible

enough to not want to abandon their pets for whatever reason.

 

" It is this responsibility towards pets that the foundation hopes to preserve

among the owners. "