A third of young people have never watched birds or wildlife in their garden or a park, according to the RSPCA’s landmark Animal Kindness Index.
The Index raises worrying concerns about children’s access to animals and the natural world – also showing that seven out of ten children and young people (aged seven to 15) have never seen a cow being milked and around one in five (21%) have never fed ducks.
Every year the charity encourages children and young people to get outdoors and take photos of animals in a bid to become closer to nature and inspire the next generation to help create a better world for every animal.
The RSPCA’s photography awards sees thousands of under 19s submit amazing pictures of animals and nature suggesting many young people are engaging with the natural world – but these latest figures highlight that there is still work to do to ensure even more young people connect with animals.
The RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2024 is now open for entries and is set to be bigger and better than ever to mark the charity’s 200th anniversary. The competition is hosted by wildlife presenter and RSPCA President Chris Packham and encourages young people to appreciate all animals by capturing inspiring photos of pets, wildlife and farm animals.
RSPCA Chief Executive, Chris Sherwood, said: “We’re incredibly excited to see the amazing photos being entered into the competition this year and we hope this will help to inspire a deep connection with the animal kingdom now and in the future.”
Young people aged 18 and under have the opportunity to enter the prestigious and free-to-enter competition now with the chance to win some fantastic prizes – but entries close on August 15 – in just a few weeks time.
The latest polling also revealed that a whopping 85% of children and young people call themselves animal lovers but this drops to just 58% of 16-17-year-olds – and the RSPCA has raised concerns of a “compassion gap” where older teenagers and young adults have less interest in animals than their younger and older peers.
Chris added: “It’s impossible to overstate just how important it is that children and young people develop a relationship with the natural world early on in their lives. We want to see a world where animals are treated with kindness and respect and so teaching children about the needs of animals, their unique personalities, and our impact on nature, is crucial to achieving this. Spending time watching birds and wildlife in gardens, community green spaces or parks is so important as it helps to create an understanding of the natural world and how we might protect it.”
To mark the RSPCA’s 200th anniversary, the charity is launching two new poignant categories for budding young photographers to enter alongside the usual categories:
- ‘Better World’ aims to showcase animals living their best lives and portray what a better world for animals looks like, this will feature photos of animals exhibiting their natural behaviours and aims to inspire everyone to create a better world for every kind of animal, and to show that animals have rich, emotional lives and unique personalities.
- ‘City Life’ highlights how animals are all around us – even where we least expect them, and will show how we can live harmoniously together in all sorts of spaces. This will feature photos of animals who have ventured into towns and cities and live amongst us. The aim of these photos is to show something human-made with the animal subject – such as pavements, buildings, railings, traffic lights and more. It aims to get people thinking and to show that you don’t have to live in rural countryside to enjoy wildlife and nature.
This year’s awards will be judged by a panel of experts in wildlife photography, including Chris Packham; wildlife photographer Rachel Bigsby; former competition winner-turned-professional photographer Catriona Parfitt; professional wildlife photographer and photographic guide Ellie Rothnie; and RSPCA photographers Andrew Forsyth and Emma Jacobs. This year will also welcome new judge Fabian Rivers, an RSPCA ambassador, and an exotics and wildlife vet who appears on CBBC’s The Pets Factor.
Sponsors of the competition are Natures Images (wildlife photography holidays) and Camtraptions (camera traps for wildlife photography).
Winners in each category will be awarded trophies and a selection of prizes at a ceremony at the Tower of London in December.
To submit your entry, or for more information on the RSPCA Young Photographer Awards, latest news, galleries and photo tips visit: https://young.rspca.org.uk
