Pet Corner: Free classes to teach children about being a responsible pet owner

The online short courses for children during the midterm break cover a variety of subjects including basic pet care.

The DSPCA's free online classes and workshops are now available to teachers and community groups across the country for students of all ages and abilities. Picture: DSPCA

Ireland’s oldest and largest animal welfare organisation has unveiled a series of virtual initiatives aimed at educating children and adults about the importance of animal welfare and responsible pet care.

The DSPCA usually hosts these educational sessions and talks in-person, but the organisation moved the initiatives online this year as a result of Covid-19. These include pre-recorded guided shelter tours and live virtual talks given on Zoom by one of the DSPCA’s dedicated education outreach team on the importance of responsible pet care and preventing animal cruelty.

It has also made a range of material available online for school teachers to help a class learn more about animal care and the work of the DSPCA, including worksheets, word searches, crosswords and art projects. Classes are also encouraged to design posters, leaflets, run an animal welfare campaign in their own school or even run a small fundraiser for the DSPCA. There are teacher workshops and career guidance talks on animal-related careers as well as a range of workshops and talks for after-school, youth and adult interest groups.

The charity hopes its ‘Careers with Animals’ talks will help secondary school students from third to sixth year explore their career choices.

The online short courses for children during the midterm break are suitable for children aged between six and 16. They cover a variety of subjects including basic pet care, working with animals and ‘how you can help animals around you’.

“Animals and their welfare are at the very heart of everything we do at the DSPCA. Our vision is that every pet will one day enjoy a healthy life in a happy home and one of the ways we hope to achieve this is by educating the pet owners of the future.

“Our virtual educational talks are aimed at children and students of all ages – from pre-school right up to college and including adult interest groups - and we are happy to create an age-appropriate session tailored to anyone’s specific needs. At the DSPCA, we work hard to spread the word that cruelty towards any animal is not acceptable and animals should be treated with kindness and we’re delighted that we can continue spreading this message via virtual means during Covid.”

All of the initiatives are free to everyone and those who make use of the resources are encouraged to make a donation to the DSPCA.

The DSPCA rescues, rehabilitates and rehomes over 2,500 animals, both domestic and wildlife, each year.

• To book a virtual talk with the DSPCA or to book one of the limited places at a virtual mid-term workshop, visit www.dspca.ie