RSPCA are at it again.

[candoia aspera]

how silly is this all going to end up?

Cuddling the class pet is cruel, RSCPA tells schools - Times Online

[Reaper941]

That's ridiculous. From first hand experience if the kids are supervised they cannot harm the animal and it's a great learning experience.

How silly will it end up??..

Don't breathe. Carbon dioxide can harm the house flies.

[sharpstrain]

tossers

[Sarracenia]

There was a decent point made about classrooms being a noisy environment, but maybe if they focused on it, they could get their point across. It also mentioned that school pets get given to different people every week, which, if it's true (which I highly doubt), is pretty bad. However, you may have noticed that these things aren't described as "cuddling the class pet". The RSPCA are missing the point entirely. If they tried to teach the "teachers" and staff properly and made the kids get disciplined, it would probably make quite a difference.
And come on, how would stuffed animals (I hope they didn't mean teddy bears ) demonstrate the need to care for animals? Simply put, the RSPCA are messed up and certainly need X Rays to check for any signs of brain activity.

[TAXI]

Got to be a good learning experience....DICK HEADS

[Titch1980]

Originally Posted by Sarracenia

There was a decent point made about classrooms being a noisy environment, but maybe if they focused on it, they could get their point across. It also mentioned that school pets get given to different people every week, which, if it's true (which I highly doubt), is pretty bad. However, you may have noticed that these things aren't described as "cuddling the class pet". The RSPCA are missing the point entirely. If they tried to teach the "teachers" and staff properly and made the kids get disciplined, it would probably make quite a difference.
And come on, how would stuffed animals (I hope they didn't mean teddy bears ) demonstrate the need to care for animals? Simply put, the RSPCA are messed up and certainly need X Rays to check for any signs of brain activity.

they actually do, our kids school hamster they choose a different person to take it home each weekend and holidays

[ratboy]

Hmmm... Less about animal cruelty and more about animal rights I think ?

[Athravan]

If the RSPCA are concerned, why not provide education in the case of a course for teachers to attend on animal welfare, that the teachers can pass on to the children.

Animals in schools are still being looked after at the end of the day, given housing, food, water, and attention. All the small furries and similar in rescues not being looked after and not being found homes are surely much more of a worry.

My school had a hamster, to be honest classrooms weren't that noisy, it was quite a strict school, and there was no shouting / screaming in the classroom as we were always supervised, certinly no more noise than having a hamster in the same room as a tv being wached all day, and I don't see the RSPCA complaining about that. It didn't go home at night but again... how much attention do most small furries, reptiles, insects or fish need during the night? I dont handle mine at night! Our hamster went home to a different person in the holidays - with the permission of the parents of course, who would be the ones responsible for it, but on weekends the caretaker checked up on the classroom animals in my school.

I think a small furry teaches kids to be gentle and respect animals, it teaches them that they need to be fed, watered and cleaned... I don't see how a stuffed animal can teach them any of those things.

[SiUK]

I expect no better from the twats

[ratboy]

At the end of the day, most of the classroom animals they are talking about... ie Mice, Hamsters, Rats, Gerbils, etc would be classed as vermin if they were not being kept as pets. Which is why I think that this is more about animal rights.

Does the fact that a mouse is being held by a child that is shrieking ( presumably with delight ) actually bother the mouse ? Personally, I would think not. I have never seen a pet mouse bolt from loud noises... has anyone else ? usually, they just have a quick look in that direction, see that there is nothing to be scared of and stick their noses back in to whatever they were examining before the noise happened.