Humane Education Presentation

Emily Tronetti from Coexistence Consulting humane education.

Humane Education is for Everyone

By: Nikki Phillips

Emily Tronetti is an anthropologist humane educator and an animal behavior and welfare consultant. She owns Coexistence Consulting and is a cofounder of Humane Alliance of Rescue Trainers, a non-profit organization that matches shelters and animal rescues with behavior support. Tronetti is pursuing her Doctor of Education (EdD) in Educational and Professional Practice with a specialization in Humane Education.

The Evolution of Humane Education

Humane education initially emerged as a way to teach children how to be kind to animals. Overtime, it became apparent that there is a need to teach humane education in a variety of fields worldwide. Humane education training fosters critical thinking skills and sets a path for people to deepen human empathy for their companion animals, thus inspiring them to make overall positive changes in all animal interactions.

Expanding the Audience: Teaching All Ages

What began as a child-focused program has evolved to include people of all ages because, to properly model appropriate behavior, adults need to understand the elements of positive animal interaction. The overall modern goal of humane education is to teach all people to be kind to all animals. This compassionate way of existence focuses on preventing the cruel treatment of all beings. People typically interact with companion animals, so primary education tools apply to that relationship.

Pro Tip: Good news! Humane education does not have to take place in a formal setting because humans and animals alike are always learning. The key of to be open to the conversations and connections that build humane, empathetic interactions.

According to the Institute of Humane Education, these teachings help develop core values related to kindness, empathy, responsibility, and integrity in choices that affect all living beings across the planet.

Inspiring Critical Thinking and Building Trust

Begin by inspiring critical thinking through establishing trust and empathy among the people working on their humane treatment skills. This may require getting curious and having conversations using gentle prompts and questions to develop the partnership and check perceptions. In this stage, we should also model the behavior we want to see throughout the humane interactions.

Pro Tip: Fostering empathy in others is a key element of effectively interacting on a humane path.

Empathy is often misunderstood and mixed with sympathy. In truth, they are very different. Empathy is defined as an emotional state induced by recognizing, understanding, and caring about another being’s perspective and experiences. We should resist assumptions and aim for understanding to inspire compassion in the community. Daily practice can help in the modeling step and will also help you strengthen your foundation in humane interactions in an authentic way

Children and Youth as the Primary Audience

Although the audience for humane education has expanded since the late 1800s, children and youth continue to make up the primary audience for humane education programs. Teaching children kindness toward all living beings requires that adults are also educated in these areas. However, many adults have few opportunities to reflect on these humane education issues. The goal of humane education is to improve the relationship between community members and their animals, but also provide skills they can apply to interactions with all beings in the natural world.

Humane Education is for Everyone - References

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Institute for Humane Education. (2021). What is Humane Education? https://humaneeducation.org/what-is-humane-education

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McPhall, D. (2020, December 7). What I’ve Learned By Applying an Antiracist Framework to My Animal Advocacy. Sentient Media. https://sentientmedia.org/what-ive-learned-by-applying-an-antiracist-framework-to-my-animal-advocacy/

Rumford, R. A. (2018). Shaping the Future of Humane Education toward Creating Systemic Change [Ph.D., Saybrook University]. http://search.proquest.com/docview/2189860577/abstract/64222EF0E C1A4948PQ/1

Saari, M. H. (2018). Re-examining the Human-Nonhuman Animal Relationship Through Humane Education. In A. Cutter-Mackenzie, K. Malone, & E. Barratt Hacking (Eds.), Research Handbook on Childhoodnature: Assemblages of Childhood and Nature Research (pp. 1–11). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-51949-4_69-1

Weil, Z. (2004). The Power and Promise of Humane Education (1st edition). New Society Publishers.

Weil, Z. (2009). Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life (Original ed. edition). Beyond Words.

Weil, Z. (2016). The World Becomes What We Teach: Educating a Generation of Solutionaries. Lantern Publishing & Media.

Young, A., Khalil, K. A., & Wharton, J. (2018). Empathy for Animals: A Review of the Existing Literature. Curator, 61(2), 327–343. https://doi.org/10.1111/cura.12257

This information is intended solely as a general educational aid and is not a substitute for medical or other professional advice.

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