Texas Teacher Accused of Feeding an ‘Ailing’ Kitten to a Snake at School

A teacher at a Texas high school was investigated by the school district after feeding an ailing kitten to a snake in her classroom.

An Advanced Animal Science teacher at Alvord High School in Wise County is accused of feeding a week-old kitten to a snake kept in her classroom and telling her students about it, according to a complaint filed with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).

“According to the complaint, the educator brought in four kittens who were born to her own cat,” PETA said in a statement on Tuesday, Sept. 23. “After the teacher fed one of the kittens to the snake, an upset student took home the other three kittens.”

The three kittens later died.

Per the complaint, the teacher informed the student that they had another pregnant cat, saying that she was feeding kittens to snakes at home and adding, “You can’t save them all.”

“PETA today sent an urgent letter to Alvord Independent School District Superintendent Randy Brown, urging him to immediately ban the use of live animals from classrooms in the district and investigate the teacher’s alleged conduct,” the organization said.

In a statement shared with NBC 5 DFW, Brown confirmed that the unnamed educator “fed an ailing kitten to a snake before the start of the school day and outside the presence of students.”

Brown said a parent reported the incident to police and the Animal Control Division of the Wise County Sheriff’s Office on Sept. 3, sparking an investigation. Authorities reportedly decided to let the school deal with the matter, per NBC 5 and CBS News.

After telling her students about feeding the kitten to the snake, the teacher “permitted a student, with parental consent, to take the remaining ailing kittens home,” said Brown.

Brown described the teacher as “an experienced educator and animal lover,” adding that she apologized to the students and “removed all snakes from her classroom,” per NBC 5 DFW.

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PETA is now calling for a criminal investigation over the incident and a ban on live animals in the classroom at the school

“An educator who should be teaching her students empathy and respect for others is instead tearing newborn kittens from their mother and subjecting them to a painful, terrifying death in front of shocked and traumatized teenagers,” said PETA Vice President Rachelle Owen. “Anyone who would demonstrate such cruel and disturbing behavior shouldn’t be around children or animals.”

PEOPLE has contacted Brown and the Animal Control Division of the Wise County Sheriff’s Office for comment.