Oh good! we thought when we read that the BC SPCA is going to promote more humane education for the children of BC. AAS has been criticizing the SPCA for years for "education" that was too often just kids handling timid animals and learning how to keep animals in cages. Some SPCA branches have held summer camps for kids which we believed were better learning experiences.
Until we read that the Port Alberni SPCA took kids to a deer farm. Not a deer sanctuary, but a deer farm - deer raised and slaughtered for meat. The underlying message to the children is that it is okay to raise and slaughter all animals, even species that are widely thought of as being "wild animals". That the deer are fallow deer and government has switched this specie's designation from wild to farmed so that people can make money selling deermeat, does not excuse the SPCA for giving children such a mixed message.
How can taking children to view animals that are merely vessels of profit "assist children in developing...respect for all living creatures"?
Alberni-Clayoquot Branch
After a successful one week camp
in the summer of 1997, the Port
Alberni-Clayoquot Branch offered
two weeks of camp in the summer of 1998. Two summer students were hired through
grants to lead the camp under the supervision of the shelter staff. With ten campers
registered at each camp, the leaders were able to work closely with the campers and
provide quality experiences for the youth. With a rented van each afternoon they went
on field trips to a dairy farm and witnessed border collies moving cattle from field to
field; a deer farm where campers made friends with an emu; a guided nature walk
through beautiful Rathtrevor Park; and they visited a fish hatchery. The camps ran from
10:00 am to 2:00 pm during each weekday, and the campers learned about appropriate
pet care through fun activities, crafts and guest speakers. The cost to attend camp was
only $25 for the week of camp. Shelter Manager, Irene Towell commented that the
feedback from parents was very positive and everyone wanted to return the following
year.