“The boys may throw stones at the frogs in jest, but the frogs die in earnest.”
-Plutarch
The goal of our Humane Education Program is to sensitize young people to animal issues, and to nurture their potential for compassion towards those sentient beings who are considered “subhuman.” Although the educational system offers humane education at the elementary level, very little exists at the secondary level. Considering that adolescence is the time when young people stop seeing themselves as “children” and begin to see themselves as “adults,” it is imperative that the animal-abusive parts of adult culture do not become for them synonymous with “growing up.”
VOICE FOR THE ANIMALS’ HUMANE EDUCATION TEACHES
COMPASSION & SAFETY
Voice for the Animals Foundation’s Humane Education Program uses live animals to teach empathy, compassion and non-violence to children and adults. In addition to these themes, we take a fun and interactive approach to animal safety education.
Bob speaks to a group of students at Edison Middle School. 2 March 2012.
Trainer Sean O’Shea shows a student how to safely approach an unfamiliar dog. 2 March 2012.
Bob introduces students to Hercules. 2 March 2012.
NEW ROADS TESTIMONIALS- Animal Rights
The speakers influenced me by changing my perspective and making me more aware of animal cruelty. The speakers did a good job of engaging me. I liked that the speakers had experience and showed emotion. I am more involved because I know more and understand what I can do to help stop animal cruelty. – Miles Harrison, 6th grader
I learned a lot of information on how animals were treated and what places treat them badly. I learned about bull hooks and how they used them on elephants. I also learned how they stopped using the bull hooks in the LA Zoo. They mistreat the animals badly in zoos, Circuses, Rodeos, and much more. I also have learned about the importance of adopting animals in shelters and spaying/ neutering! I am teaching my family all about it! We need to end animal cruelty today! – Camila Wilson, 7th grader
The things that Minoo and Mariana said touched my heart. I think that these are little poor animals who don’t have a voice and we are abusing them. Like in animal entertainment, I think it is wrong to beat them. They should not have with animals in the first place. People do the dumbest things messing with animals. There are many deaths because people have been harassing animals. The speakers told us a lot of information that taught me how I can support the life and love of animals- Anaya Banks, 6th grader
Something that I did not know was that there were so many homeless pets in L.A City. The most “shocking” part was when they told us about what was going to happen if we did not take care of our pets, for example that you have to keep the cats inside your house and that dogs have to go out EVERY day. Something that I learned from their presentation was that TOO MANY kittens and puppies are born every year, or even every day. Now I know that we have to neuter our dogs/ cats, also it is free! And I really liked Rico’s story because I think that it was really nice what Holland’s grandma did for him.Hope they came again to present other things in animal Rights!!!!!!- Julia Manilow, 8th grader
I have learned so much in this class from what really happens at zoos and laboratories, to how to help a homeless animal. I have to say that it really gets so hard to look at meat the same way I once did. And to know that people test products on animals claiming that it will save lives, when these animals have totally different DNA makes me so upset. I really hope that one day people will look at animals as equals.
Before I came to this class I had so little knowledge on how animals were being treated. I would go to zoos with no reason to think that zoos were so wrong. When the speakers came, they explained so much I now understand what elephants and other animals are going through.
I really can’t begin to put what I feel on this paper. I feel so strong about animal rights now that I have more information and details about how these animals are being effected around the world by humans. – Cameron Robson, 7th grader
COMMUNITY ACTIVISM
Recently, group of compassionate and conscientious students from Crossroads High School met with Voice For The Animals to protest the inhumane practice of selling live lobsters at Albertson’s in Santa Monica. Research has shown that lobsters can feel pain, making it very cruel to keep them stacked one on top of the other at a grocery store. Whole Foods deemed this practice cruel several years ago and has not sold live lobsters since. Click here to view the flyer students passed out to Albertons patrons.
WORKING AT THE ROOTS
Taken from a speech in 1884 to a national meeting of state school superintendents by George Angell, founder of the Massachusetts SPCA:
“Nearly all the criminals of the future, the thieves, burglars, incendiaries and murderers, are now in our public schools, and with them are the greater criminals who commit national crimes. They are in our public schools now and we are educating them. We can mould them now if we will. We may teach a child to shoot a little song bird in springtime, with its nest full of young, or we may teach him to feed the bird and spare its nest. We may go into the schools now and make neglected boys merciful, or we may let them drift, until, as men, they become lawless and cruel.
I am sometimes asked, “Why do you spend so much of your time and money in talking about kindness to animals, when there is so much cruelty to men?” And I answer, “I am working at the roots. I declare that just so soon and so far as we pour into all our schools the songs, poems, and literature of mercy towards these lower creatures, just so soon and so far shall we reach the roots not only of cruelty but of crime.”
