Young animal lovers start early at schools

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The students of government schools in the state are turning animal lovers thanks to the initiatives taken by the animal husbandry department. The Animal Welfare Clubs started by the department in four panchayats in Thiruvananthapuram district on a pilot basis have created awareness among the students about the animal kingdom.

For example, 43 students of Nemom government UP school, who are members of the Animal Welfare Club, visited the Thiruvananthapuram zoo on Tuesday, and surprised Dr. Jacob Alexander, senior veterinary surgeon, with their knowledge of the animals. He asked them how to differentiate between the male and female ostriches. They replied that while an adult male ostrich is mostly black with white primaries and a white tail, the female ostrich will be greyish-brown and white.

The majority of the students like M. S. Anupama, a sixth grader, and R. A. Alex of fifth standard, were seeing the ostrich for the first time and it was their first visit to the zoo. When Dr. Alexander asked them how much would an ostrich egg weigh, they said, "one or two kilos."

"What does king cobra eat?" Pat came the reply, "rat snake." 

AWCs have been formed in Karakulam, Vilavoorkkal, Keezhattingal and Kalliyoor. Dr. V. G. Shanti, veterinary surgeon attached to Kalliyoor panchayat, told DC that the department had earmarked '50,000 each for the activities of AWCs.

"AWC takes students on field trips to create awareness about animal welfare. They are also given classes on stray animals and about adopting them," said Dr. Shanti who has also started a pollinator garden at Nemom school.

The students were provided with two chicks coinciding with the formation of a poultry club before the Onam holidays. After the holidays, they came out with a daily report on the progress made by the chicks. 

There was a buy-back guarantee scheme which enabled them to sell eggs and adult chicken to students.

Mr V. Jayachandran, school headmaster, told DC that since the AWC was formed in August, the students had shown great enthusiasm about animal welfare. "The first field visit by the AWC students was to the Regional Poultry Farm at Kudapanakunnu. On Tuesday, they were taken to the Thiruvananthapuram zoo and the next field trip is to Milma dairy at Ambalathara on November 27. The expenses have been borne by the animal husbandry department," he said.

Ms V. R. Sindhu, teacher, who is also the coordinator of AWC, said that the students had written a travelogue on their first field visit to the poultry farm. "There are 50 members in the AWC, majority of them from economically backward communities," she said.

AWC leader M. S. Anupama was sorry about keeping the birds and animals caged in the zoo. "But then how can we see so many birds and animals in one go? I felt disappointed at first, but then I was happy to see a vast array of birds and animals," she said. R. A. Alex, a fifth grader and a Malayalam medium student, was excited about being a member of AWC.

Dr. N. N. Sasi, director of animal husbandry, told DC that his department has plans to form the AWCs in all government schools in the state. 

"Already, poultry clubs have been formed in government schools in the state. Recently, the students in a government school in Kannur gave the money earned through selling chicken eggs to buy books for the school library. Such clubs enable the students to earn money while they learn and also create awareness on animal welfare," said Dr. Sasi.