Teach children to love animals, says Mary Kom

Olympic bronze medallist boxer Mary Kom has in a letter urged all education ministers of states and union territories across India to educate children in the official syllabuses not to love and not harm animals.

Kom, also a multiple world champion, has joined hands with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) for its Compassionate Ctitizen campaign. She has requested the ministers to include the humane-education programme in the textbooks, read a statement.

In her letter, Kom writes: "As the mother of three young sons, I strive to teach my children that we must be animals' biggest defenders. One of the best ways to knock out cruelty to animals is to teach compassion to young people."

"Animals need us in their corner. With violence seemingly all around us, it is more important than ever that we teach lessons of respect and kindness in the classroom," she added.

Compassionate Citizen has been voluntarily used in more than 15,000 private and government schools and has reached more than three million children across India.

Recently, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) issued a notification to schools affiliated to it to use Compassionate Citizen as an official part of their curriculum.