Teen’s Arrest for Allegedly Attacking Bird Prompts Call for Humane Education

PETA Stresses Need to Teach Anti-Bullying and Compassion in the Classroom—for Whole Community’s Sake

For Immediate Release:
May 25, 2017

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

Following reports that a teenager was arrested and charged after allegedly attacking a seagull with a hatchet at Mount Pearl Senior High, TeachKind—PETA’s humane-education division—sent letters this afternoon to local schools urging them to implement humane education.

TeachKind—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—has offered the schools free “Bullies Are Just Cowards: Report Abuse When You See It!” posters and sent elementary schools its Share the World curriculum kits, which are appropriate for even the youngest learners.

“We’re facing a bullying epidemic—and if reports are true, a teenager wielded a hatchet against a seagull, inflicting such serious injuries that the bird had to be euthanized,” says PETA Senior Director of Youth Outreach and Campaigns Marta Holmberg. “Empathy must be taught, and TeachKind is urging schools to implement humane education and encourage students to report any cruelty to animals that they witness.”

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.