Animals at School
TAMARIKI SCHOOL BOARD OF TRUSTEES
POLICY ON ANIMALS AT SCHOOL
NAG 5
RATIONALE
Tamariki School recognises its legal obligations to animals in accord with the Animal Welfare Act 1999 and seeks to ensure that animals at school are treated humanely.
AIMS
1. To ensure the well-being of animals brought to school by children, staff or other people.
2. To encourage children to take proper care of and responsibility for animals which are at school, particularly those in their own care.
3. To ensure that the school environments where animals are kept or taken remain hygienic and health-promoting for people and for animals.
4. To protect local wildlife.
GUIDELINES
1. All animals at Tamariki School will be treated with care and respect.
2. Responsibility for the welfare of animals in Tamariki School rests with the teachers, and, ultimately, with the Principal and the Board of Trustees.
3. Animals at Tamariki will be provided with their five basic needs:
freedom from thirst and hunger
freedom from discomfort and lack of appropriate shelter
freedom from injury and disease
freedom from distress
freedom to display their normal patterns of behaviour.
4. Children must have prior consent from the Principal before animals are brought into the school. Visiting dogs to be restrained on a lead, and other visiting pets safe on a harness or in a cage.
5. Animals must be treated humanely. If teachers are concerned about an animal's well-being, they may take charge of the animal and ring the child's parents to collect the animal from school if possible.
6. If a child demonstrates that s/he is unable to look after an animal in her/his care appropriately, the Principal may ban her/him from bringing animals to school. The child may have a meeting with the Principal to have the ban revoked after a period of time specified by the Principal.
7. Animal owners are responsible for cleaning up after their pets.
8. Because of health concerns when animal fur or excreta is deposited, animals should remain outside.
9. The Principal will approve specific guidelines for designated pet days as needed.
Reference: Caring for animals. MOE, 1999.
REVIEWED and ADOPTED June 2017
Next review date: June 2020
This page was last modified on: 18 Oct 2017 16:40:39
