Hammy the Hamster

Hamster in Hiding

Yesterday, beloved pet of class 4 escaped! Hammy, the six month old Hamster eligedily escaped from Saltedge Primary during half term. He was supposed to spending the half term with one of the students but in the rush he was forgotten.This incident has brought up alot of questions about whether schools should be aloud to keep pets.

We interviewed Joe Smith, the caretaker at Saltedge Primary. He was the first person to notice that Hammy was missing. "I was in school over the half term just doing a few jobs. I Went to clean Hammy out and he wasn't there and the cage door was wide open. I'm glad the little rodent is gone, I was fed up of cleaning its poo up anyway. I blame the teacher for the whole thing, she should have been more responsible." We also interviewed the teacher of class 4, Patsy Jones. "It's a shame that Hammy is gone, the children loved him. And I feel really guilty for not checking his cage was closed properly."

Child Physiologist, Sam Pepper has been in touch with us to express her view on the situation. "I think having pets in schools is a great idea, it teaches the children about having responsibility and will give them skills that will help them in later life." Chris Jenkins from SAVE has also been in touch with a completely different side to the story. "I think it's a disgrace that animals are being kept in schools! They don't get treated properly. If it was up to me I would make it illegal." Vet, Pritesh Kahn agrees with Chris' opinion, he says, "I completely agree that animals shouldn't be aloud to be kept in schools, they don't get enough attention and its just not the right environment for a small, vulnerable animal."

It seems that everyone has different views about the situation. Hammy will be looked for until he is found and we'll just have to wait for an agreement about pets in schools.

If you see a pale brown, small Hamster around the area of Maghull ring this number 123456789, thank you.