Put animal welfare on school timetable

Campaigners urge animal welfare lessons in Bahrain schools

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Animal welfare should be taught in Bahrain's primary schools to help prevent pet neglect and abandonment, the Bahrain Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (BSPCA) has urged.

BSPCA Chairman Mahmoud Faraj told The Daily Tribune that children should learn from an early age how to feed, handle and care for animals responsibly, including the risks of overfeeding.

The society has approached the Education Ministry more than 16 times since 2014 to propose adding animal welfare to the school curriculum, Faraj said.

He said even a single lesson could help build greater responsibility and compassion towards animals, adding that the society was ready to provide teaching material from international animal welfare organisations.

The call comes amid growing pet ownership in Bahrain, which Faraj said had also been accompanied by cases of animals being mistreated or abandoned after owners lost interest in them.

He said lessons could help children understand that owning a pet is a long-term responsibility, while also encouraging kindness towards animals in the wider community.

Faraj said Bahrain could become one of the first Gulf states to introduce animal welfare formally into school curricula. He pointed to programmes in countries including Finland and Australia, as well as school initiatives in the UAE and Qatar.

He also said teaching animal welfare would reinforce Islamic values of kindness and mercy towards animals.