Humane Education

SPCA hosting a seminar in China.

Humane education has been the core objective of SPCA’s China Outreach programme from the start. Back in 2007, the SPCA’s Education Department developed a humane education package for primary schools and secondary schools in Hong Kong. Following its success, the original content was adapted for a different audience in China and the first Chinese edition was launched two years later.

In 2010, the SPCA’s China Outreach programme worked with the Xiamen government to launch the first stage of our humane education initiative. The content of the package was localised to make it more relevant to the city, reaching some 8,000 primary school and secondary school students. From this pilot programme, the humane education initiative has furthered its reach to other cities in China, including Guangzhou.

In 2012, teachers in Guangzhou and Xiamen were given training before they began the school year. In the training session, we covered the basic concepts of animal welfare and the application of the humane education package in a classroom environment. An SPCA veterinary surgeon, representatives from Animals Asia and local government officials were also present to impart their professional knowledge on veterinary science, animal welfare as well as relevant legal regulations.

In two short years, Chinese students using our textbooks have more than doubled and we expect this rapid growth to continue in the coming years.