After Teen Beats Dog to Death, PETA Offers Humane Education

TeachKind Stresses Need to Teach Anti-Bullying and Empathy in the Classroom

For Immediate Release:
October 8, 2018

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

TeachKind (PETA’s humane education division) sent letters this morning calling on Muscogee County School District Superintendent Dr. David F. Lewis and local schools to implement humane education. The letters follow the arrest of a 17-year-old Columbus resident who allegedly beat a stray dog to death with a broomstick and dumped the animal’s body in the woods behind an apartment complex.

TeachKind—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—is mailing Columbus elementary schools free copies of its Share the World curriculum kit, which includes lesson plans designed to help educators teach even the youngest learners to have empathy for animals. The group has also offered the middle and high schools in the county free “Bullies Are Just Cowards: Report Abuse When You See It!” posters, noting that Georgia’s Board of Education requires that students receive lessons in kindness and compassion as part of their character education.

“Bullying and violence are sweeping through schools today, and it’s crucial that educators teach students that it’s not acceptable to hurt animals, let alone beat a dog bloody with a broomstick,” says PETA Senior Director of Youth Outreach and Campaigns Marta Holmberg. “TeachKind is urging schools to implement humane education and help prevent anyone else from getting hurt.”

TeachKind notes that according to leading mental-health professionals and law-enforcement agencies, perpetrators of violent acts against animals are often repeat offenders who pose a serious threat to the community at large. Its staff is available to send materials to schools, suggest lesson plans, and even host classroom presentations for students via Skype—all for free.

The group’s letters are available upon request. For more information, please visit TeachKind.org.