A Texas science teacher has apologized for feeding an “ailing” but still living kitten to a classroom snake and then telling students about it early in the school year.
One student, however, alleged that students were present when the sick animal was devoured and her mother later contacted the school district and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to raise concerns.
But in
to “correct the record” obtained by the
, the Alvord Independent School District (ISD) Superintendent Randy Brown confirmed the feeding took place but insisted that it occurred before the school day began and not in the presence of any students.
“The teacher, an experienced educator and animal lover, has apologized to the students for her actions and voluntarily removed all snakes from her classroom,” Brown wrote.
National Post has contacted the ISD for more information and a copy of the statement.
The school district became aware of the Sept. 3 incident after its own police department received allegations of misconduct by a staff member from a parent who also contacted the Wise County Sheriff’s Office animal control division.
An investigation was launched with the assistance of the county attorney’s office, at the end of which all three decided the matter was not criminal in nature and should be dealt with at the district level.
“While we cannot provide additional details, we can confirm this was a one-time, isolated incident that has been addressed and fully remediated,” Brown said.
The
only has three schools — an elementary/intermediate, a middle and the high school.
The statement also indicated that more kittens were spared a similar fate when a student, with approval from a parent, was permitted to take them home, where they ultimately succumbed to their illness.
The mother of the girl who rescued the kittens said her daughter allegedly bottle-fed the three remaining kittens for two weeks before they died, according to the
, which withheld both their identities.
“It was really hard on her — she was up every two hours trying to feed them,” the woman said
The kittens, according to the
, were born by one of the teacher’s own cats.
The mother also told the Star-Telegram, the Messenger and PETA that the teacher allegedly indicated to students that she had another pregnant cat at home and planned to feed those kittens to her snakes if they, too, were unhealthy.
“Reportedly, the teacher claimed to have another pregnant cat at home and taunted the student, saying, ‘You can’t save them all,’ and said that she is also feeding kittens to snakes at her home,” PETA wrote in its
.
The animal rights group called on the school district to implement a ban on “the use of live animals” in classrooms and said the allegations against the teacher, if proven, could constitute a violation of the state’s animal cruelty laws.
“An educator who should be teaching her students empathy and respect for others is instead tearing newborn kittens from their mother and subjecting them to a painful, terrifying death in front of shocked and traumatized teenagers,” vice-president Rachelle Owen wrote.
“Anyone who would demonstrate such cruel and disturbing behavior shouldn’t be around children or animals.”
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