We ought to require ‘humane education’

AS many people have expressed their horror at the extreme violence portrayed in Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story on Netflix, imagine how many human lives might have been saved had Dahmer’s fascination with torturing animals been taken seriously by his family, friends, and local police force.

Research in the fields of psychology and criminology informs us that time and time again, individuals who commit acts of cruelty to animals – as Dahmer did – go on to hurt humans if they aren’t apprehended and given the help they need.

Fortunately, today, lawenforcement agencies recognise cruelty to animals as a precursor to further violence and track animal abuse as they do murder. However, it would be much better to prevent animals from being harmed in the first place, and we could make great progress by requiring humane education in schools.

Children who learn to consider the feelings and rights of others – to see the “us” in “them” – stand a good chance of growing into kind, benevolent citizens and peaceful community members. PETA offers a free humane education pack, which can be downloaded at www.peta. org.uk/misc/share-the-world/.

Jennifer White

Media and Communications Manager, PETA UK