Comparing Cruelty

Voiceless creates high-quality, free, Animal Protection Education (APE) resources for high-school educators.

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OVERVIEW

Our Animal Protection Education (APE) resources provide students and teachers with the information they need to understand how animal cruelty can be measured and compared between countries around the world.

In these lessons, students will use the Voiceless Animal Cruelty Index (VACI) to question, consider and discuss how animal cruelty is produced, consumed and sanctioned in 50 countries. Through this online, interactive index, students will compare the statistics and rankings given to individual countries and will use this information to think critically about what constitutes animal cruelty.  

YEAR LEVEL

Years 9-10

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

These resources invite students to:

  • Discuss and compare the production and consumption of farmed animal products from 50 countries around the world
  • Consider the laws and regulations put in place to protect animals from cruelty
  • Think critically about the ways in which the VACI measures animal cruelty
  • Work collaboratively with others

RESOURCES

Encourage critical thinking on the subject of animal cruelty by downloading our free APE resources below:

To access lessons and worksheets see the box on the right-hand side of this page.

VIDEO

This 6-minute video introduces students to the Voiceless Animal Cruelty Index (VACI) and examines the rankings of three countries: Australia, France, and India. Video features include voiceover, subtitles and a downloadable transcript. It is suitable for use in high school classrooms for all ages and countries.

Teacher Tip Icon Download the video transcript or comprehension worksheet to use with your students.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES AND LESSON PLANS

Flip through the lessons below or download your PDF  here.

Learning Areas: Civics & Citizenship, Design Technologies and Geography.

Suitable for students in Years 9 or 10.

VOICELESS ANIMAL CRUELTY INDEX (VACI)

Updated 2020 VACI Website Thumbnail

The VACI tracks the animal welfare performance of fifty countries, selected among the largest producers of farmed animal products in the world.

This interactive Index evaluates and ranks countries based on the nature, extent and intensity of cruelty associated with farmed animal production.

Access the VACI here.

GLOSSARY AND QUIZ

Thumbnail of the Comparing Cruelty Quizlet

A short Glossary and an online Quiz to help students test their understanding of the key terms contained in this APE.

Click here to access the Quiz.

Access the Animal Protection Encyclopedia here.

If you’re a high school teacher, click here to subscribe to the Voiceless Education Mailing List. You’ll receive exclusive news and updates as well as teacher tips to help you bring Animal Protection Education into your classroom.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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