Jordan Times
Tuesday, August 25, 1998
Animal protection society to introduce nationwide awareness campaign in schools
By Randa Naffa
AMMAN — The Jordanian Society for the Protection of Animals (JSPA)
is turning to schools as part of a nationwide campaign to raise public awareness on animal
abuse, blamed on ignorance, poverty and negligence.
“In a bid to increase awareness among children, the JSPA established educational
programmes in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, which handled visits and
lectures at the different schools around the Kingdom,” said Ragheb Kamal, the
society's director.
He was speaking at a one-day seminar held last week to look into ways to promote the
JSPA's activities.
Nadia Hammam, supervisor of JSPA's educational programme, stressed the importance of
integrating the concept of animal protection in the educational curriculum at schools to
encourage children to respect animals and their role as part of natural cycle.
“Our aim will be to expand the educational programme and teach the young to be nice
to animals through innovative methods,” she said.
“The JSPA is very concerned with making people take action regarding the cruelty of
animals,” Hammam added.
She also said decision-makers had to take measures to protect animals from abuse.
To counter wide spread perceptions, an Islamic expert cited verses from the Holy Koran
that encourage people not to mistreat animals.
Senator Abdul Aziz Khayat, a former minister of Awqaf and Islamic affairs, said animals
should also be protected because they are part of nature and contribute to the balance of
life on earth.
Yarmouk University Professor Mohammad Sabareeny said human beings, with their
“rational ability,” had to learn how to cope with animals, which cannot go
beyond their biological capacity.
Meanwhile, JSPA Vice Chairperson Margaret Ledger said the society's new programme to
involve animals such as horses and pets in the treatment of the handicapped had achieved
some promising results.
The programme was launched in cooperation with the Jordanian Society for Therapeutic
Treatment and the Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad (SPANA), to which the JSPA
is affiliated.
“The handicapped showed progress when they [interacted] with the animals,”
Ledger told the Jordan Times on the sidelines of the seminar. “Through the movement
of the animals, the handicapped were able to build their self-esteem. And this signals the
influence of animals on people.”
The JSPA, a non-governmental organisation, was established in 1988 under the umbrella of
the London-based SPANA in association with the Ministry of Agriculture.
JSPA, which evolved into an independent society later, is dedicated to the protection of
animals by providing veterinary help at its clinics and first aid as part of field
services covering the areas of Amman, Balqa, Madaba, Irbid, Ajloun, the Jordan Valley and
surrounding villages.
Kamal said the JSPA offers free veterinary help to poor owners of animals in rural areas.