Click here to text ELEPHANT to 73822 to urge event organizers to cancel abusive elephant games at Nepal’s Chitwan Elephant Festival. Elephants were gouged with bullhooks!
Terms for automated texts/calls from PETA: http://peta.vg/txt. Text STOP to end, HELP for more info. Msg/data rates may apply. U.S. only.
These Comments About Betta Fish in the Classroom Show Why They Should Never Be Used as Class ‘Pets’
All teachers want to enrich their classrooms, enhance their lesson plans, excite their students, and make learning more fun. But keeping animals as class “pets” is never a good idea, no matter how common or how well intentioned it is. There are countless reasons why animals don’t belong in the classroom—and that includes fish. Siamese fighting fish (aka “betta fish”) are popular classroom animals for all the wrong reasons: Many people mistakenly believe that they are easy to care for, can survive by eating plant roots alone, or can live in vases or small bowls. As a result, they’re sentenced to dull, lonely lives and slow deaths by starvation, as the food they’re given is insufficient and the containers they’re confined to are unsuitable for any fish.
The pet trade treats these sensitive living beings as nothing more than commodities. Pet shops, big-box stores, florists, and websites sell them in cramped cups or flower vases to consumers who have no clue how to provide them with proper care—which is much more complex and expensive than most people realize.
Betta fish are native to Asia, where they naturally live in the shallow water of rice fields, ponds, and slow-moving streams. Since the water is shallow, it’s also warm—which is why, in captivity, bettas require temperature-controlled water as well as good filtration. They also appreciate enrichment such as caves, rocks, and live plants, and the aquarium must be cleaned regularly.
On top of all that, any animal living in a classroom is likely to experience a great deal of stress. The bright lights, noise, and chaos of a classroom setting combined with dozens of inexperienced little hands makes for an unpredictable and risky situation, and the likelihood of the animal falling victim to an accident or even abuse is high. Plus, transporting bettas safely during weekends or school breaks can be difficult—but leaving them alone in a classroom should never be an option, either, as they are sensitive to temperature changes, need to be fed and cared for, and can fall ill.
TeachKind has been alerted to numerous instances in which betta fish suffered in the classroom—including one in which a biology teacher allowed students to put incompatible bettas in the same tank to watch them fight (see below). The fish were then sent home with “anyone who wanted them.” We also learned of a betta fish who died in a preschool classroom because the teacher didn’t know enough about bettas to realize that the fish was sick, which happens fairly often.
It’s never OK for educators or anyone else to risk the life and welfare of sentient beings by treating them like teaching tools or classroom novelties. As a compassionate educator, you have the power to start changing these harmful attitudes by refusing to allow animals in your classroom.
The following comments and anecdotes, written by teachers, students, parents, and others, were compiled from various online forums by the TeachKind staff—and they all illustrate exactly why the classroom is a dangerous place for bettas.
The classroom just isn’t a safe environment for a betta fish, as there are many uncontrollable factors—everything from the water temperature to the behavior of the students and fellow staff members:
When fish are kept in improper conditions by people unaware of their needs, it can be lethal—as was the case for these bettas who jumped out of tanks:
Some teachers keep betta fish in virtually unlivable conditions in which their needs aren’t met at all:
Other teachers simply don’t know what they’re getting themselves into—and it’s always the fish who suffer:
While some teachers get bettas in order to teach students about responsibility, many are inadvertently imparting the wrong lessons—in fact, some students leave the classroom with horror stories about neglect and the improper treatment of living beings:
In some cases, betta fish are actually used as part of cruel classroom experiments and treated like nothing more than inanimate teaching tools:
Teachers sometimes raffle off or simply give away betta fish (and other classroom “pets”) at the end of the school year or simply as prizes to uninformed students and their equally uninformed families:
And of course, leaving betta fish alone in a classroom during a school break, over a weekend, or even overnight can easily result in disaster:
Have you ever wondered how you’d handle a classroom “pet” betta fish in the case of an emergency? In one case, a teacher (who’d already admitted that a classroom “pet” in her care had died after being left unattended over a school break) had an emergency, and it ended in tragedy for the animal:
“Okay, so my co-teacher has a family emergency back in her native India. I regretted agreeing to take care of NemoDaddyHotwheels before she even asked. [She said,] ‘The last time I left for vacation, the fish died.’ Well, I’m [no] fish expert but I’m not surprised. He was being kept in an unheated, unfiltered half gallon pet carrier. Not once since his introduction [to] the classroom (late September) had I seen her change his water. His tank was bare … but littered with uneaten food. He barely moved and never ate. I was afraid that anything I did—wrong or right would kill him. … Unfortunately, original NemoDaddyHotwheels died between the half hour drive home and the half hour I went to Petco to get Betta water and an aquarium heater because I freaked out he was on his side. 🙁 Turns out my house is much colder than our classroom. Or perhaps, even though I’d tried to siphon off most of the water from the bottom of the aquarium, there was just too much accumulated ammonia in a smaller volume of water and it killed him. Anyway, I brought his poor sad little body back to Petco hoping they’d help me revive him somehow but instead stupidly left with a new look-alike instead of waiting until after Thanksgiving break. I mean, I still had his remains to do a comparison against. 🙁 “
The bottom line is that some teachers see bettas not as individual beings with the capacity to suffer but as replaceable classroom props—as illustrated by this teacher’s callous comment:
“I don’t mean to sound sinister, but what’s the worst that could happen to the fish. If you have a particularly rough weekend or vacation and the fish actually dies, then you can get another one for about 3 dollars. Sad, I know.”
Betta fish are sensitive, sentient beings who deserve better. There is no appropriate lesson that can be taught with a classroom “pet” that can’t also easily be taught using humane methods. A classroom simply isn’t a suitable setting for any animal.
Related Posts
Who owns the rights to a photograph taken by a monkey? This intriguing question was at the heart of a groundbreaking legal case involving PETA, representing Naruto, a crested macaque who snapped a series of selfies with an unattended camera, and photographer David Slater, the camera’s owner. Slater discovered Naruto’s selfies after retrieving his camera … Read more »
If you are a teacher, parent, or caregiver who keeps up with educational trends, you’re likely aware of the mental health crisis affecting many young people today. The pressures of academic performance, social dynamics, and personal challenges have led to rising levels of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues among K-12 students. Addressing this … Read more »
Many students face a variety of stresses from home life, school, and social pressures, and they may feel embarrassed or hesitant to ask for the things they need. A care closet can be a discreet source of comfort and privacy, providing essential personal care items that help students feel cared for and valued. By creating … Read more »
Stories of people helping animals are all over the internet, and sharing them with your students is an excellent way to encourage kindness both in and out of the classroom. Because most children naturally feel compassion for animals, sharing rescue stories is a great way to engage and motivate different types of learners and encourage … Read more »
“Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights?”
— Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA President and co-author of Animalkind