Respect for animals to be included in French school curriculums for the first time at the start of the 2024 academic year: a step forward to be encouraged for interspecific protection

Abstract

At the start of the 2024 school year, animals officially made their appearance on the new moral and civic education syllabus. If we have any criticisms of the Education Code as well as expectations as to how the new learning areas should be approached, it should be emphasised that including animals in the moral and civic education curriculum is not a trivial choice. In fact, it has the consequence of questioning and renewing the notion of "living together", by promoting the harmonious coexistence of the living (human, animal, nature). This new programme encourages respect and protection through an intraspecific approach (between humans) but also, in a novel way, through an interspecific approach (towards animals). We need to go further, however, by explicitly including animals in the curriculum of the various subjects taught during the compulsory schooling period, which must guarantee every pupil the necessary means to acquire a common foundation of knowledge, skills and culture. The entire school curriculum must enable pupils to learn about animals in all their complexity. To this end, the notion of "animal sentience" could be mobilised, as could that of "animal culture". Understanding the extent of animals' cognitive and emotional capacities will naturally lead younger generations to love them and, consequently, to want to defend them. Finally, the animal issue needs to be included in teacher training programmes, so that teachers have the necessary knowledge to pass on to their pupils and the teaching resources they need to implement these teachings.