Pets

Over 58.4 million animals are kept as pets in the UK* so it's important to understand what they need to be happy and healthy. Does your class know how to care for their pets?

Our free teaching resources will help children to understand pets as living animals with needs and feelings. They'll learn about the five welfare needs of animals kept as pets, how different pets have specific needs and what our responsibilities are to our pets.

Dog at feeding time

A nation of animal lovers

Introducing the concept of animal cruelty, focusing on pets and whether it is deliberate or neglect.

Looking after pets takes time

Looking at the responsibility of pet care, the time and activities required to look after a pet.

Pet snake

Exotic animals as pets

Looking at the complex needs of exotic (non-domestic) pets and how to look after them properly.

We all have basic needs

This lesson can be used to introduce pupils to the concept of human and animal (pet) needs.

Female horse

How do we look after pets?

This lesson focuses on which animals make good pets and how to care for them.