What is Humane Education?

Humane education is an approach to teaching which aims to foster in young people a functional ethic embodying a balanced sensitivity for all living creatures, animals as well as people.

In its most general sense, humane education refers to all those activities designed to encourage people to "be kind." Its goal is to help people develop empathy and compassion for other people and animals, respect for the environment, and the ability to make decisions based on the welfare of others as well as themselves.

The process of humane education begins with accurate information about animals and animal issues and goes on to incorporate empathy building and critical thinking skills to foster compassion for all living things. Since children's attitudes are still forming, it is usually more effective to focus educational efforts on them rather than adults already set in their ways.

Effectively done, humane education can benefit individual people, society, the environment . . . and animals. By fostering the development of sensitivity, empathy and compassion, humane education results in better people. Widespread humane education would help society become more caring and less violent. People would have a greater understanding and tolerance for each other and for animals. We would live in a gentler world where people have respect for themselves, for each other, for animals and for the planet itself.

The earliest rationale for humane education was that kindness to animals would transfer to people. Modern research by Steven Kellert, Alan Felthous and others has shown that most violent criminals have a history of childhood cruelty to animals. Dr Randall Lockwood has done much work in educating social agencies as well as humane societies about the connection between domestic violence and cruelty to animals. The Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (CFHS) has sponsored several workshops in Canada. Newspaper accounts of sensational crimes often mention some incident of animal abuse in the perpetrator's background. Any child who abuses animals should be recognized as being in need of immediate help.

In this context, humane education also provides a means by which teachers may recognize victims of child abuse. Humane education lessons offer a setting in which children discuss how animals in their families are treated, and sometimes the treatment is abusive. Teachers should be aware that where animal abuse is taking place, whether perpetrated by parent or child, child abuse is often taking place as well.

Humane education is more than pet care information. Teaching responsible pet ownership is part of humane education, but it is not the whole aim. If every Canadian looked after his or her pets properly, certainly many animals would be better off. But if the motivation for looking after pets properly does not include a genuine appreciation and concern for all life, then humane attitudes have not been fully developed.

Humane education takes environmental education a step further. Environmental education is concerned with the preservation of species, humane education with the treatment of individual animals -- human and nonhuman -- as well as preservation of species. Environmental education includes wildlife as part of the natural environment. Humane education includes domestic animals as part of the human environment which is part of the natural environment.

Humane education teaches an appreciation of the interrelationships of all living things. Its subject matter is the web of life. The life and welfare of each individual person is inextricably interwoven with the lives and welfare of the other people, wildlife and domestic animals with which he or she shares the earth. As humans, we make decisions which affect the entire biosphere. Humane education helps lead children to ethical decisions taking into account other people, animals and the environment.

Humane education defined by the American Humane Association
1998 Summit on Humane Education

Humane education strives, through a variety of strategies and methods, to provide experiences that transform the individual.

The process of humane education

1. engenders the values of respect, compassion and reverence for life

2. instills the understanding of the dynamic relationship and interconnectedness between and among the living and non-living components of the world

3. promotes a sense of the individual’s place, role and responsibility within this “web”.

© 2000 Elizabeth Gredley and animalINK
All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author. Permission is granted to reprint on a non profit web site provided this copyright notice and link to www.animalink.ab.ca remain intact.