Animal cruelty
Fifth graders at an elementary school in Brooklyn created an "Adopt Don't Shop" campaign to help prevent the overpopulation and euthanasia of animals bred in mills. The class began by wanting to help ban kill shelters in New York City but, after meeting with advocates in the field, learned that the breeding of puppies and other animals to sell in pet stores is at the root of animal overpopulation. They also discovered that the conditions of most puppy mills are inhumane and seriously under-regulated. The students felt strongly that by educating families in their school community and encouraging them to adopt pets from local shelters, their class could help decrease euthanasia in open shelters.
Click here to to read their "Adopt Don't Shop" newsletter.
The class also plans to partner with Change.org to create a petition campaign.
The class meets with a Senior Director from Change.org.
Another group of fifth graders in Brooklyn created an advocacy campaign to help prevent animal testing by U.S. laboratories creating cosmetic products. They created a petition drive (results coming soon!) to support the federal Humane Cosmetics Act, as well as a community pledge to purchase cruelty-free cosmetic products whenever possible. They created an advocacy packet, which they distributed to the families in their community.