Pet lamb sent to slaughter.

[modeller]

The head teacher Andrea Charman has resigned after receiving hate mail from parents for sending their childrens pet lamb to slaughter and serving it up for school dinner. The children had hand reared the lamb from a baby given it a name and considered it their pet.
Andrea Chapman claimed that had been the purpose all along and that the children had approved of her action. The parents thought otherwise and she received hate mail from them and from all over the world . What do you think of her actions ?

[bobjugs12]

I just looked into the story a bit more and felt...................................hungry
.




Lamb chops, mmmmmmm

[Sandy-Wroe]

No farmer would ever make a pet of an animal he knew was to go to slaughter. Once the children had made a pet of that lamb it should have remained a pet.

I wouldn't want to ever have to rely on that teacher's judgement.

[DeniedAccess]

I agree with redhelen as children in india, africa south america etc... Understand that the animals in their farms, gardens etc.. will ultimately end up on their plates.
Knowledge and education are key.

[LoftyLottie]

It was a pet lamb and a school is not the place to have a pet lamb and then have it slaughtered. I think that the headteacher should be aware of other's sensibilities regarding animals and should not have done brought this lamb into the school in the first place. She is a headteacher and should stick to the curriculum, not force her views on her pupils.

Stick with hamsters and guinea pigs (as long as they are not served up for dinner)

[DeniedAccess]

Loftlottie as long as freddie starr isn't around i think the hamsters and guinea pigs are safe

[jno]

no way, DeniedAccess

http://www.foundshit....od/hamster-muffin.jpg

[DeniedAccess]

Lol, and the claws make great toothpicks once you've finished.

[ABerrant]

The children of Lydd Primary were well aware that this project of raising sheep for food would lead to it being slaughtered, just as any other meat yielding animal would be.

The previous term children at the school voted 13 to one that the sheep should be slaughtered. The school council also voted in favour of the decision.

Twas only the intervention of 'cotton wool' promoting parents (and their internet hate campaign) that blew the issue out of proportion.

http://www.romneymars...slaughter-angers.html

[DeniedAccess]

So these parents let their kids watch bloodsplattered horror films, play games where the more you slaughter the more points you get, love their sunday roasts, beefburgers, hotdogs pepperami etc....So we're tough when we want to be and soft when we want to sue someone?

[jno]

sounds like overprotective parents to me - the children are getting an education in where food comes from, and they seem ok with it.

[craft1948]

One of the parents is probably suing the school for her child's "trauma"........

[modeller]

As an ex- teacher and a parent I have tried to see both sides but I must say no school I ever taught at would have slaughtered a pet. I do stress the word pet.
As for having a vote it depends on how much information was given and how it was phrased. With most people and young children in particular you can get any answer you like if you phrase it right. It doesn't appear that the parents were consulted at all.
Going by what I have read the head showed lack of sensibility and common sense.

[jake-the-peg]

I thought similar but then I considered that this was a primary school rather than a secondary school.

This sounds like a valuable lesson for older children - for younger chidren I think it was poorly judged

[craft1948]

Sorry modeller I disagree....these are not townie kids and are growing up in a rural community where the vast majority of children must be aware that meat doesn't grow on supermarket shelves. From what little I've read the majority of parents actually backed the head, but the vitriolic minority hounded her out. This same head had actually turned the school around from special needs status....I think it is shameful the way this lady has been treated.

[ABerrant]

You are stressing the word "pet" - the school were operating a farm.

[ABerrant]

... operated with parent consent.

http://www.romneymars...ay-open-and-head.html

[joggerjayne]

The expression "get a life" comes to mind ...

(although, not applicable to the lamb, of course).

[modeller]

craft. I may be wrong but I don't think you know what a 'Special Needs ' school is. It doesn't mean it is a failing school, athough it may have been , it means these children can not cope with mainstream schools for physical and/or mental reasons. Therefore they need to be treated in a very sensitive manner and I might add easy to get the vote the head wanted.
There are only 14 in the school and yet we are told a lot of parents protested at the gates. If true that is hardly a vocal minority.
You also stated these are rural children who know full well food doesn't grow on supermarket shelves. Fair enough then why was it necessary to have this sort of project in the first place ? Something far more suited for townies who don't know.
I watched the interview the head gave to the BBC and she came over as a genuine caring person and her farm has many merits but bottle feeding lambs, treating them
as pets and then killing them sends the totally wrong message.