Taught by the Hunting Federation, the first sessions begin this March in schools in Soria.
Various animal rights groups have asked the educational community not to collaborate with the Castile and León Hunting Federation in the activities promoting the hunting activity 'Hunter for a day', which will begin in March 2012 in schools in Soria.
La Federación de Caza de Castilla y León fomentará la actividad cinegética con actividades en los centros escolares, dirigidas a niños de entre 7 a 12 años, una programación que forma parte de un convenio subvencionado con 300.000 euros por la Consejería de Medio Ambiente de la Junta de Castilla y León, rubricado en enero de 2011.
According to complaints from various animal rights groups, the purpose of these activities is to increase the number of hunters in order to compensate for the gradual decline in the number of hunting licenses, motivated, among other things, by the lack of interest in hunting among young people.
For animal rights advocates, the educational value of these activities is "at the very least, debatable."
"While there has been intense debate about the content of the Citizenship Education subject, in Castilla y León an activity is subsidized and promoted that encourages in our children an activity that many parents do not share and that is based on killing animals for pleasure," they denounced.
Furthermore, they have described this activity as an "educational absurdity," when at the same time schools have to sacrifice training programs on issues that promote respect and equality among all living beings with the capacity to feel, due to announced cuts.
Therefore, they have asked all members of the primary school community in the province of Soria (teachers, parents and educational administration) to express their refusal to collaborate with the hunting promotion campaign prepared by the Hunting Federation in schools.