Why do some children become violent? Recent schoolyard shootings and decades of evidence show that a child’s attitude toward animals can predict future behavior.
According to FBI profilers, the American Psychiatric Association, law enforcement officials and child advocacy organizations, people who hurt animals may also direct violence toward humans. Cruelty to animals is considered one of three symptoms that predict the development of a psychopath and is included as a criterion for conduct disorder in children by the American Psychiatric Association.
Experts agree that some young people hurt and kill because they have never learned empathy, the ability to understand what someone else feels or to “put themselves in someone else’s shoes.” When these kids hurt someone, they are unable to imagine the agony they cause. Teaching kindness and respect for animals is the first step in teaching children empathy.
PETA has launched an international campaign to raise awareness about the link between animal cruelty and violence and to advocate humane education in schools as a vital component of violence prevention. PETA has met with the U.S. Department of Education to urge that the Safe and Drug-Free Schools Program—which aims to reduce drug and alcohol use and violence among students—incorporate tips on humane education program that would teach students empathy and compassion. We have also asked the Department of Education to encourage students and teachers to report animal cruelty.
Other components of our campaign include:
•Outreach to more than 100,000 educators at teacher conferences.
•Direct appeals to hundreds of thousands of parents through humane education materials distributed to pediatricians and obstetricians.
•Speaking at legislator conferences, urging them to strengthen animal cruelty statutes, require psychological counseling for animal abusers and introduce humane education into school curricula.
•Distribution of humane education materials to thousands of schools all over the world.
•Humane education presentations to children at schools, churches and summer camps.
“Math is mandatory; teaching children the difference between kindness and cruelty should be, too,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk.
•Ask your local school board to implement a formal humane education program. Contact PETA’s Education Department for advice.
•Order a supply of our “Raising Kind Kids” brochure to give to local pediatricians.
•If you see a child behaving cruelly toward an animal, report it immediately to his or her parents and to authorities.
Hats off to teachers who show children how to treat animals with kindness and respect! Here are a few of our heroes:
• When one of Marilyn Garhart’s students spotted a mother duck nesting on a grass island surrounded by school buses, Marilyn and the class put out food and water to keep her from wandering. But then a cruel person shot the mother. The children who had tried so hard to keep the mother duck and her family safe were devastated, but with Ms. Garhart’s assistance, the orphaned ducks were cared for by the class until they were old enough to move to a safe place.
 • Brian Weaver always emphasizes “compassion and speaking out for what is right.” Last year, his classroom theme was “Justice for All,” which, of course, includes animals. Says Weaver, “Kids need a teacher to walk the talk, say what they mean, and mean what they say.” He teaches the meaning of the word “compassion” and calls for real-life examples, encouraging his students to see the world from the perspective of neglected companion animals and those on factory farms.
• After seeing unhappy captive elephants at the Los Angeles Zoo, Melya Kaplan’s students decided to address the imprisonment of the elephants at a Board of Zoo Commissioners meeting. Zoo commissioners learned from the students that elephants are intelligent, social animals who are bored and frustrated when confined to concrete enclosures. Kaplan has also had her students attend demos against circuses and write letters shaming celebrities who wear fur, as well as showing them videos about factory farming and vegetarianism.
•Join these extraordinary teachers and teach compassion wherever possible. Even if you’re not a teacher, you can volunteer to read animal-friendly books at library reading hours, become a big brother or sister and teach an at-risk child how to be kind or sponsor humane education efforts in your town or city by volunteering for programs at shelters and after-school programs.
•If you are a teacher, please join PETA’s Teachers Network. Contact our Education Department for details and for free humane education materials.
Our favorite humane education program is Share the World. Visit their Web site at www.ShareTheWorld.com.
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