ANIMALS IN THE SCHOOL
PR-5-2
PROCEDURAL DOCUMENT
Effective Date: 4 September 2012
Rationale
In any activity involving animals, the safety of everyone at School and the care and welfare of the animal/s is important.
Purpose
To ensure that animals within class programmes are cared for appropriately.
Guidelines
- Permission needs to be sought and given before animals can be brought into school.
- Animals will be given an appropriate balanced diet which includes ready access to clean drinking water.
- Animals will be kept in secure surroundings of adequate size, which are designed with safety, servicing and hygiene in mind.
- Proper provision will be made for the care of animals during the weekends and school holidays.
- High standards of cleanliness and hygiene will be maintained, and animal waste removed.
- Animals brought to school on a temporary basis will be cared for and not subjected to unnecessary stress.
- Animals purchased by members of staff are their responsibility, along with all expenses.
- If a class
programme is developed which calls for animals to be studied or used in
teaching the Animal Welfare Act 1999 must be complied with. Consultation
with the New Zealand Association of Science Educators (NZASE) is
recommended.
- Any activity
in which a live animal [mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian, fish (bony or
cartilagineous), octopus, squid, crab (including half crab), lobster,
crayfish (including freshwater crayfish), as defined in the Animal
Welfare Act 1999] is used for teaching or research requires ethical
approval.
- Approval from
an Animal Ethics Committee that is willing to enter into a parenting
arrangement with the school is a legal pre-requisite prior to using
animals.
- A list of the types of activities that require approval can be located at http://www.nzase.org.nz/ethics.html.
- The NZASE
holds a Code of Ethical Conduct for use of animals in teaching and
schools and also runs an ethics committee administered by the Royal
Society of NZ that will consider school projects for approval.
Conclusion
While it is desirable that students learn to care for animals, the welfare of the animal/s is important.
Additional Resources:
Animals in School Education Trusts (http://www.aiset.org.nz)
Te Kete Ipurangi – The Online learning Center (http://www.tki.org.nz/e/tki search Caring for Animals) |
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