Animals helped by educating children

EDUCATING children about animal welfare leads more young people to believe animals have feelings too, according to research.

The Scottish SPCA said research shows its Prevention through Education programme has increased the number of children calling its animal welfare helpline.

The charity speaks to about 300,000 children a year and in the last five years it has seen a 382 per cent increase in calls from youngsters reporting injured wildlife or cases of neglect.

In Fife, more than 25,900 children benefited from its free education service as the charity visited 130 primary schools in 2016.

The research, which was also conducted by Edinburgh University and published in the Journal Of Applied Animal Welfare Science, shows the effect of early intervention education on the school curriculum.

Roxanne Hawkins, a PhD student at the university, said: “A key finding with this research is that following participation in some of the workshops, there was a significant increase in children’s belief that animals have feelings.” CONNOR BALLANTINE 10, Madison O’Donnell, Mikela Udaigwe, Rhys Smith and Alice Healy all 9, from Saint Rose of Lima Primary School, in Craigend, Glasgow, dress as their favourite characters to prepare for World Book Day which is today.

To mark the day, which is the 20th anniversary of the scheme, all school children are entitled to receive a World Book Day £1 Book Token that can be exchanged for one of 10 specially published World Book Day £1 Books. The tokens are valid to March 26.

A survey has shown one in four children say the book they bought with their 2016 World Book Day book token was the first book they owned. Kirsten Grant, director of World Book Day, said: “We’re extremely proud of how deep and wide the impact of World Book Day continues to be in the lives of children and young people.”