New Research Confirms the Importance of Pet Education

LONDON, March 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

As the findings are released, the UK's animal welfare charities collaborate and launch a new website with all their resources in one place

Today, two new surveys conducted by the Pet Food Manufacturers' Association (PFMA) among 2,500 adults and 400 teachers confirm the need to teach about pets in schools. 89% of adults, 78% of primary teachers and 70% of secondary teachers all agree that it is important to teach responsibility through learning how to care for pets. More adults thought it was important to teach younger children how to care for pets than it was to teach them about sex education and money management. Unfortunately the research among teachers revealed that caring for pets is not currently taught at 60% of primary and 85% of secondary schools.

To highlight the importance of pet care education, the PFMA has helped establish the Education Alliance, a collaboration of the UK's key pet welfare charities and organisations including Blue Cross, PDSA and RSPCA. To make teachers' lives a little simpler, this group today launches http://www.peteducationresources.co.uk. This is a unique and free website giving teachers and anyone with a love of pets, access to all of their educational resources in one place. The Education Alliance is united by a belief that children and young people should be educated both about caring for animals and the importance of providing for an animal's Five Welfare Needs.

Peteducationresources.co.uk will help those 64% of schools not teaching about pets at all engage with pet welfare education. But the Alliance believes further work must be done. It is concerned that the current Curriculum Review is putting the current opportunities for teaching children about pet care at risk, so members will be lobbying for a 'thread' of pet welfare education throughout the curriculum so children understand how they should care for pets, and why they should do so. Michael Bellingham, Chief Executive of PFMA, states: "We know that education from an early age is key to achieving our objectives of responsible pet ownership, which is why PFMA initiated the Education Alliance to work on collaborative projects, created peteducationresources.co.uk and why the alliance will continue to work together to improve pet education in the UK."

For more information call Nicola Growcott on +44(0)207-379-9009 or +44(0)7949858294 or email Nicola@pfma.org.uk.

To view full press release and see notes to editor, click here.