Test Education is an essential element of any effort to effect change. Given the need for greater understanding and respect for others and different value systems or view points, humane education specifically fosters more positive interactions between both human and animal members of the community. Humane education not only improves community members’ understanding of the intrinsic value of wildlife and domestic animals but also increases their appreciation for the connection between animals, society, and the natural environment. Municipalities can reduce conflict, as well as public and environmental health risks, through educational initiatives that focus on coexisting and thriving with all members of the community, both human and animal.

This action encourages the municipality to work in partnership with schools, state agencies, and other community organizations and stakeholders to implement humane education programs to foster appreciation and respect for wildlife and/or domestic animals and our shared environment. Resources and guidance are provided to facilitate the development and implementation of the educational programs that can target one or more of the following audiences: school children, professional educators, and community members, including residents and business owners.

The municipality is encouraged to link the educational initiatives to service learning opportunities to further engage both young and mature students and to demonstrate how individual behaviors can significantly impact our communities. In addition to reducing nuisances, improving environmental stewardship, and promoting responsible pet care, humane education and applied learning strategies can increase community members’ understanding of how wildlife and companion animal issues relate to their everyday lives and how the choices they make can lead to positive interactions and a more sustainable future for themselves and their communities. In addition to promoting individual responsibility, these activities can build support for local government to take progressive steps and utilize innovative tactics to resolve complex community problems.

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Education about animals, their habitats, and their connection to humans promotes and empowers responsible community stewardship of New Jersey’s wild and domestic animals and of our shared environment. Humane education programs help to teach students, residents, and other stakeholders in the community about the interactions between humans and wildlife as well as about responsible pet ownership, which includes not only caring for pets, but also how pets are allowed to interact with society and the natural environment. Through such education, municipalities can promote positive interactions between community members, both human and animal, and improve stewardship of the natural environment.

As recognized by NJ State legislators, humane education programs help schools promote respect and compassion for living things and the environment, discourage violence, and provide the knowledge and understanding necessary for children to behave according to these principles. Humane education programs are an effective, inexpensive way of addressing the core causes of some significant social problems, such as violence, domestic violence, and animal abuse, according to the NJ Animal Welfare Task Force. In its final report to the Governor the task force noted that a wealth of research has established a clear link between violence to animals and violence towards humans and has emphasized the importance of humane education in deterring violence before it begins.

This action also helps educators engage students and meet their educational goals — and by extension the goals of the community — by offering opportunities for aligning school lessons, activities, and special programs with topics and issues of great interest to today’s youth. Children have a natural affinity for animals. According to a 2008 survey by the Girl Scout Research Institute, two out of three young girls feel strongly about protecting wildlife and are concerned about ecosystems. More than nine out of ten girls believe that schools and youth organizations should be proactively involved in educating students and families about how to protect the environment. In one recent market survey, endangered animals were the top environmental issue among children ages 6-14. Thus, animal-themed lessons and educational activities can help teachers and schools achieve goals in language arts, science, social studies, and other subjects by engaging students with topics they care about and thereby motivating them to learn.

This action also offers opportunities for integrating meaningful community service with formal instruction, which fosters civic responsibility, enriches student engagement with curricula, and engages youth as assets and resources that contribute to the community in positive ways. Community benefits also include increased capacity to address a specific community problem or meet a particular need and promoting interaction between young people and other community members, which enhances overall community relations. There also have been documented cases where service learning was directly associated with increasing the number of adult volunteers in schools and passage of municipal tax levies in support of schools.