On a crisp November morning on Thursday (November 7) a school in the Romanian village of Sindrilita received some unusual visitors - a rescued chicken, a duck, and their human handlers - to improve learning and teach students to be kind.

Rodica the chicken and Bubbles the duck were introduced to the students by Oana Vasiliu, a veterinarian at a wildlife rescue foundation.

Bubbles, apparently the more extrovert of the two, waddled around the classroom with the fifth grade students following behind, while Rodica stayed at the front of the class to be petted.

Around 20 schools in Ilfov county surrounding Romania's capital Bucharest are pioneering the animal awareness class for fifth- and sixth-graders this year in a project officials hope will boost empathy, learning, and help combat bullying, and there are ambitions to take the programme nationwide.

Raluca Baleanu, an animal protection advisor at Ilfov county council, said bullying in schools had reached "fairly large proportions", and interacting with other animals with missing limbs or eyes could help children accept people who were different to them.

Vasiliu said the emotional impact and the message about being kind was strong for children when they met the animals in person rather than being shown photos or learning about the issue on television.

Yasmina Dinu, 11, was saddened by the idea that Rodica, a former battery chicken, had been harmed.

"If this were to happen to my chickens it wouldn't sit well with me. Some animals are hurt by people, they don't get affection," Dinu said. - report from Reuters