We are concentrating here on humane education delivered formally in schools. This is important since it is the way to develop compassionate and caring attitudes in society. It is a sustainable - but long-term - strategy for changing ‘hearts and minds’.

However, it is worth pointing out that humane education can also be delivered in other ways including non-formal methods such as campaigning. It is also important that animal welfare training becomes an essential part of the professional development of any person planning to work with animals - including veterinarians, stockmen/women, slaughter-men/women, animal wardens etc.

In many countries, humane education in schools still concentrates on either awareness of animal issues or responsible pet ownership. It is usually done in a piece-meal way, dependent mainly upon the coverage achieved by animal protection groups, or on the inclinations of individual teachers. The ideal of a broad-based, all-encompassing humane education is important because this consolidation presents an educational package which is difficult for governments and teaching authorities to ignore - it widens its acceptability and coverage. As regards methodology, if animal groups could be training teachers (instead of giving one-off lessons) and producing humane education resources, the educational messages would be far more widely spread.

The ideal Humane Education in the classroom incorporates an exploration of human, animal and environmental rights, to teach children a personal sense of responsibility and a compassionate attitude towards each other, animals and the earth they live on. Children are extremely receptive, their minds are inquiring and active and they have huge supplies of natural enthusiasm. Important messages they receive at school go in deep, yet, this education is the opposite of indoctrination, since the message is not to believe x, y, or z, but to encourage consideration of different issues:

• Thinking about others (including animals) and their needs, feelings and suffering
• Thinking about the effects of your actions
• Thinking about your world and your place within it.

Working for Humane Education to become an integral part of each child's formal education is fundamental to the long-term strategy for alleviating animal suffering on a grand scale. Inclusion in the educational curriculum, or specified in part of this (such as 'citizenship studies', ‘life skills’ etc.) would be the most acceptable outcome.