Emergency Kindness Kits Sent to School Where Kids’ Taunting Led to Death of Moose

In the wake of a hideous incident at Colony Middle School in which a group of eighth-grade students reportedly taunted a young moose so intently that the frightened animal hurled himself repeatedly into a metal fence until he died, PETA’s humane-education division, TeachKind, has sent an emergency empathy lesson kit to the school.

One upset student wrote on a Web site, “[The moose] ran into a metal fence, three times till its antler went into its head. … [M]y friends and I … were crying, while others made fun of us ….” PETA hopes that Colony administrators will use the kit’s materials and implement a humane-education program to help prevent the violence and foster compassion in students.

The kit includes a copy of a curriculum called “Just Choices” as well as lesson plans, books, DVDs, and information about the importance of teaching respect for life, particularly when young people display violent behavior. Violent acts toward animals have long been known to be indicators of a dangerous psychopathy that does not confine itself to animals.

“All too often, we see the consequences of failing to teach the Golden Rule,” says PETA TeachKind Program Coordinator Elizabeth Graffeo. “This baby moose should not have died in terror and pain, and to ensure that such cruelty is not repeated, it is vital to teach kids the importance of being kind to all living beings–including animals.”