Most Western Australians are worried that not enough is being done about animal welfare. We are immensely grateful for the funds we receive from Government and our generous supporters but it is not enough to do the job the community expects from us.

We need the Government to invest $20m over the next four years – just $2 for each of us per year. We believe it’s a small price to pay for the protection the community expects.

$2 is a small price to pay for generational change

We urgently need to educate children about how to responsibly and safely interact with animals, and to build empathy and compassion in our community – for animals and for each other.

We know we can help drive generational change by introducing the RSPCA AWARE program into primary schools. It offers a wealth of free resources for teachers and learners that integrates animal welfare with skills development across many different areas of the Australian curriculum.

Similar education programs have achieved outstanding results in other parts of Australia and RSPCA AWARE is currently being trialled locally at a Yanchep Primary School. It will cost $100,000 a year – around $3 a child³– to give this opportunity to students, educators and parents State-wide.

There are good reasons why animal welfare needs to be a part of the curriculum in all Western Australian primary schools.

Not every child grows up with animals or even knows how to relate to animals.  And that’s a risk for the child as well as the animal.

The ability to identify and understand one’s own feelings, to accurately read and comprehend emotional states in others, to manage strong emotions and express them in a constructive manner, to regulate one’s own behaviour, to develop empathy for others and to establish and sustain relationships are the core features of social and emotional development, according to the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (2005).

We know we can help build these skills by working positively with children, adults and families. But like moves to make seat belts compulsory or ban smoking in restaurants, it may take a generation or more for entrenched attitudes to change.  We need to get moving.

Science tells us that empathy is a learned behaviour. A child’s ability to learn and to function as a contributing member of society rests heavily on the development of their social competency and outreach emotional health.

There is also a strong correlation between animal abuse and family abuse. The way a child relates to an animal may be a red flag for teachers and other carers, signalling issues in the home. Children generally also often need help developing responsible and caring behaviour towards animals.

Learning to care for animals also teaches them how to build trusting, compassionate relationships with other people later in life.

The flow-on benefits are priceless.

 

How can you help? Tell them you care!

If you think another $2 is a small price to pay to help end animal cruelty and abuse in WA, ask your local politician to support the RSPCA plan. 

Return to the Six-Step Plan      Five ways you can help today

_{(3) Department of Education School Information Statistical Reports}