Teaching children responsibility for animals: Pet Buddy in the Mautern wildlife park!

Teaching children responsibility for animals: Pet Buddy in the Mautern wildlife park!

The Wildlock Mautern in Styria becomes the place of love for animals and responsibility from June 10th to 11th, 2025. As part of the association "Pet Buddy" of the association "Animal protection makes school" Learn elementary school children the correct and respectful handling of animals. The aim of this exciting concept is to train the young participants into real “buddy of the animals”.

The costs for the courses are kindly covered by the state of Styria, which ensures that participation for schools is free. The program includes two mornings who are particularly aimed at children of the 3rd and 4th grade elementary school and the 1st class middle school. "Pet Buddy" has proven to be a valuable project that was assessed as pedagogically valuable by the Education Promotion Fund for Health and Sustainable Development.

insights into the animal world

The first unit takes place in an animal shelter - for example in Murtal, Graz, Leibnitz, Franziskus or Schirkhof - and addresses ubiquitous pets such as dogs, cats and rabbits. The children have the opportunity to experience these animals up close and learn not only their needs, but also how they can stand up for their well -being. Attention is paid to mindfulness in social interaction and violence prevention.

The second unit in the Mautern wildlife park or in the animal world Herberstein brings the children closer to the children. Here the young animal lovers learn interesting facts about lynxes, wild cats, foxes and wolves, which strengthens their understanding of nature and their relationships. During a visit to the Kobenz elementary school, the animal welfare regional councilor Hannes Amesbauer was able to convince himself of the enthusiasm of the students.

a worthwhile conclusion

At the end of the course, a special anniversary indicates the success of participation: each child receives a certificate, a fabric bracelet and a poster as a memory. The high learning effect of the program, which is achieved by direct experience and implementation of the content, not only ensures bright eyes, but also a growing awareness of the children for the responsibility they bear for their animal roommates.

for teachers or interested parties who would like to learn more about the program, Mag.a Gudrun Braun as contact person. It can be contacted by email or by phone at 0681 20 51 26 50. In a world in which the responsible handling of animals is of increasing importance, "Pet Buddy" makes an important contribution to clarification and sensitizes the next generation.