A new curriculum created to teach kids about animal rights will be released on December 9, shortly before International Animal Rights Day, according to a recent announcement from the Strategic Reforms Unit of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Kids will learn about pet ownership responsibilities and how to be kind to stray animals.
Salman Sufi, the PM’s Strategic Reforms Director, posted on Twitter. “The time is almost up. The first animal rights curriculum in Pakistan will be unveiled on International Animal Rights Day, under instructions from Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. A few days before the event, I’ll be giving the information for online participation,” he added. The course would be given at the primary level at both private and governmental institutions in Islamabad during phase one, according to a poster that was attached to his tweet.
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“It will mostly be included in a subject, but we are still figuring out which subject and the chapters,” Sufi had said when he first proposed the idea of the course in September. He stated that the course will include extracurricular activities and that animal rights activists would visit schools to instruct kids about owning pets. Children will learn that having pets is a responsibility and that they cannot merely be kept for enjoyment. Additionally, the course’s depth will grow with each new class.
Students will learn about stray animals, Sufi continued. “They need to learn that they are not allowed to throw rocks at stray dogs; even Islam teaches us to respect all living things and places a premium on the protection of animals.”
In Pakistan, where stray animals are treated with little to no dignity and zoo culture can be quite poisonous, animal rights are a big issue. Recently, comedian Ali Gul Pir spoke up about a terrifying incident that occurred while he was a teenager and witnessed kids as young as 14 or 15 pulling a dog, beating him, and laughing. He mentioned that the fact that the offenders were youngsters was the most upsetting aspect.