The discovery last week of a shark carcass suspended from exterior rafters at Ponte Vedra High School has prompted an animal advocacy group to issue a plea for empathy lessons in schools and more than 6,500 people to sign an online petition.
The dead shark was found by the school’s maintenance manager early Thursday morning, May 5. Some media outlets have described it as a student prank. The school’s mascot is a shark.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is investigating the incident.
Tuesday, TeachKind — described as PETA’s humane education division — reported that it sent a letter to St. Johns County School Superintendent Tim Forson offering to provide a K-12 kindness-to-animals curriculum and a guide to preventing youth violence against animals, called “Empathy Now.”
“Compassion and empathy can be learned, and TeachKind is on standby to help schools teach young people that everyone deserves respect, whether a shark or a student,” stated PETA Senior Director of Youth Programs Marta Holmberg in a press release.
PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It is a nonprofit animal-rights organization.
Another animal advocacy group, OneProtest, has started a petition on change.org seeking disciplinary action and criminal charges be brought against those responsible for killing the shark and hanging it in the rafters.
As of Tuesday afternoon, May 10, the petition had been signed by 6,567 people.
If students are found to have committed the offense, they face the possibility of expulsion.
