Everything You Need to Know: Animal Welfare & Humane Education in Kansas City
No matter how big or small, impact is impact and affects what that child or teenager does from that point forward. –Ashley Stanley, Animal Welfare Education Manager
Animal welfare and humane animal education are important in today’s society. Animals have rights & should be treated with respect.
…but what school offers those kinds of classes?
How can you teach your kids the value of living beings & compassion?
Surprisingly, local animal shelters & your humane society offer many different animal education & handling classes. You can learn about a wide range of animal welfare topics including how to handle animals, pet safety, animal etiquette, dog safety, & what is similar between us and animals.
What is Humane Animal Education?
Humane education teaches the significance of treating all living beings with care. Often times, local animal shelters, like Wayside Waifs, use classes and programs to encourage an understanding of respect and compassion in children.
According to the ASPCA, animals have five freedoms that collectively makeup animal welfare. These are topics covered in animal welfare & humane education classes.
What are the 5 Animal Welfare Freedoms?
- Freedom from pain, injury, or sickness
- Freedom from personal discomfort
- Freedom from starvation & thirst
- Freedom to have normal behavior
- Freedom from fear & stress
At Wayside Waifs, their educational programs teach the importance of practicing five core values: Responsibility, Self-Control, Compassion, Integrity and being Humane. Animal welfare is a cornerstone of the Wayside Waifs’s mission. Over the last 74 years, their animal welfare classes & humane education programs have grown dramatically.
Find Specific Animal Humane Education Programs:
Wayside Waifs offers many different humane education programs to teach kids about animal welfare. Their educational programs include:
- PAW-etiquette for Pooches & People
- Dog Safety
- Activiting Em-PAW-thy: Exploring Similarities between Pets & Peoples
- Once U-PAW-n A Time: Reading for Pets & People
- Kids in Action
- A variety of educational tours
In 2017, their humane education programs reached 14,000 people, nation-wide. If you are interested in this program for your kids or group outing, call Wayside Waifs or check it out on the web.
No More Bullying!® (a violence prevention curriculum) is extremely applicable in today’s society. The educational class teaches 3rd through 5th grade students the significance of treating things kindly and is now taught in 14 states!
Companion Animals Aid Humane Education
Companion animals keep kids engaged in learning.
Wayside Waif’s companion animals are the forefront of all Humane Education programs. Students understand, relate and have empathy towards the animal they see in front of them.
Currently, they have 13 companion animals. Each humane education animal must pass Companion Animal testing to be eligible. These dogs are extremely tolerant and do well in large groups & with children.
“With every Humane Education program we present, we see lightbulbs go on in the minds of the students,” said Ashley Stanley, Humane Education Manager. “No matter how big or small, an impact is impact and affects what that child or teenager does from that point forward.”
For information about Humane Education programs, including No More Bullying!®, visit the Wayside Waifs website.
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