RSPCA slams schools for egg-hatching projects as teachers don’t think about what happens to the chicks when they get bigger
- Charity said schools and nurseries are too noisy for chicks to be brought up in and they are often not looked after properly out of school hours
- Dave Allen, of the RSPCA, said: ‘It’s often that local animal welfare charities are left to pick up the pieces – which isn’t fair on the charities or the animals’
- RSPCA dealt with 1,594 incidents related to chickens across England and Wales in 2020 – taking 280 into its centres for rehoming
The RSPCA has criticised schools for taking part in chicken hatching projects – after hundreds of birds were abandoned.
The animal charity says teachers often don’t think about what will happen to the chicks when they get bigger.
It also said that schools and nurseries are too noisy for chicks to be brought up in and they are often not looked after properly out of school hours.
Dave Allen, of the RSPCA, said: ‘It’s often that local animal welfare charities are left to pick up the pieces – which isn’t fair on the charities or the animals.’
The RSPCA has criticised schools for taking part in chicken hatching projects – after hundreds of birds were abandoned. The animal charity says teachers often don’t think about what will happen to the chicks when they get bigger. (File image)
He added: ‘We believe that animal welfare can be taught in other ways, such as online resources and videos, nature walks to observe animals in their natural habitats without disturbing them, and with educational talks.
‘We have plenty of resources on our education website and we are encouraging schools to become an RSPCA Animal Friendly School and teach pupils about kindness and compassion for wildlife and animals.
‘Bringing in eggs just to watch them hatching and then to move the animals on does the opposite of teaching children the right attitude towards them.
‘They are not disposable teaching tools but living, feeling individuals whose long-term welfare should be prioritised.’
The RSPCA dealt with 1,594 incidents related to chickens across England and Wales in 2020 – taking 280 into its centres for rehoming.
Jon Beresford from Brinsley Animal Rescue, in Nottingham, said: ‘Eggs and incubators are hired to schools so the kids can watch them hatch.
‘Then we receive the calls to take on the unwanted cockerels – what does that teach children?’
The RSPCA dealt with 1,594 incidents related to chickens across England and Wales in 2020 – taking 280 into its centres for rehoming