When
parents are asked whether they think having pets is good
for the development of a child, most of them will be surprised
and say 'Yes of course it is'. Research by Nienke Endenburg at the Dutch University of Utrecht shows that 14% of all people in Holland have petst, because they expect that it'll be good for the development of responsibility of their child. In the poll of the AVRO (Dutch public broadcaster) and the AD (Dutch newspaper) in April 1999, people answered as follows; How important are pets for the upbringing of a child?
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There are about 13 million pets in Britain with just over 50 percent of households owning one. |
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Are pets good for the development of a child?In de 'Telegraaf' (Dutch newspaper) printed on Animal
Day (4th of October) it's even stated that 'children
having pets are more intelligent than children without
them'. This is nonsense, ofcourse, but still. We only know for certain that the animal wasn't feeling well in case of illness or death. Considering that an animal's value is usually expressed in terms of money, it is opportune for some people to dispose of sick animals (either kick it out or let it die) rather than spend money on an expensive vetinary surgeon. The consequences for the animal because of child behaviourThe well being of most pets is hard to determine, especially
for children. Most pets reach the age between 3 and
15 years. For children that's a very long time to oversee.
When they loose interest in the animal after a certain
period of time, the animal will become very lonely.
Most of the day, when the children are at school or
are asleep, the pet's alone. When the animal needs to
be fed it will get some attention and maybe also on
other occasion's, but most of the day it is locked up
without any attention. |
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When pets become unwantedWhen parents notice that the attention and attachment are gone, they often try to palm off the animal to someone else. In actual practice this means that many goldfish and turtles are put back in nature, dogs are tied to trees and cats are thrown out of cars. These are all well known and disgusting habits. It isn't easy to dispose of an animal in a decent way. Pet shops are often reluctant to take pets back when they are too old and animal shelters are crowded. Usually one has to give the animal and its belongings away for free, or have it put to sleep. It seems like there's something wrong with the animal that is unwanted. In America 6 Million companion animals / pets are euthanized every year. Can the animal teach a child? The short period of time that the child is involved
with the pet, the child should learn some responsibility,
but instead it learns that one is allowed to lock animals
up whenever he wants, that the animal can be abandoned
and that the pet only needs attention when it's fed. |
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Children will get attached to an animal or they won't. But how should the love for animals be expressed? It wouldn't be strange for someone who loves animals to make the choice not to have any. What role should the animal play in the life of a child? What image should a child have of an animal? Keeping an animal locked up in a cage, would this be the right message? Shouldn't a child be learning that there's a connection between freedom and love for animals? Wouldn't the correct lesson be that one shouldn't keep a pet? We are not saying that people shouldn't have contact
with animals, but usually the love between people and
an animal is not reciprocal; people are more interested
in animals than the other way around. In general, animals
seem to wonder only two things about people; 'Is he
dangerous?' or 'Does he supply me with food?' |
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Don't take a pet when you're in doubt.It is obvious that we're pleading for a careful consideration
whether to buy a pet or not. When you do
want to have a pet, get a pet from a shelter. Buying
pets from breeders keeps the abusive system going and
doesn't guarantee a healthy animal. See also: bad reasons for keeping pets. |