Dogs Trust and Cats Protection – the UK’s largest dog and cat welfare charities – have joined forces this month to launch a "Design a Christmas card competition" for Primary school pupils.

The aim of the competition is to encourage young people to think about what pets need to keep them happy and healthy; especially at Christmas, and to encourage further understanding of why it’s important not to give a pet as a present.

Generous prize packages are up for grabs for three lucky schools and their winners, thanks to the generous support of Hodder Children’s Books and Crayola.

The competition enables pupils to explore responsibility, needs, care and consideration for others within the context of animal welfare. Competition activities can be linked Citizenship, PSE and Education for Mutual Understanding (dependent on whether school is situated in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland).

The winning design will be made into a Christmas card for the winner’s school and may also be used for fundraising purposes by the charities.

Clarissa Baldwin, Chief Executive from Dogs Trust comments: "It’s exciting that Dogs Trust and Cats Protection are working together on such a worthwhile and fun project. We are particularly pleased to be using the theme of not buying a pet as a Christmas present. We feel that it’s never too early for children to think about and discuss the issues of responsible pet ownership."

The closing date for the competition is Friday 13th January 2006. For further information on both charities’ free primary education resources, please visit www.cats.org.uk or www.learnwithdogs.co.uk, where you will also be able to download a competition pack or call 020 7833 7656.