Following reports that a local teenager recently pleaded guilty to decapitating a mother swan, TeachKind—PETA’s humane education division—is rushing a series of eye-catching messages to bus shelters near local schools that urge students, parents, and the public to get on board with kindness instead of cruelty by giving some common phrases a modern, animal-friendly makeover. Just as racist and sexist words have been removed from old songs, sayings, and fairy tales and are frowned upon in everyday language, PETA’s update nixes language endorsing old habits that involved cruelty to animals, fear of them, or speciesism—the archaic idea that human supremacy is acceptable. The new and improved versions suggest saying “there’s more than one way to peel a potato,” “don’t feed a fed horse,” and “feed two birds with one scone.”

“Just as we try to avoid using words that we don’t want our kids repeating, we must consider what messages about animals we’re imparting to them through everyday phrases,” says PETA Senior Director of Youth Programs Marta Holmberg. “Small changes to language like TeachKind’s cultivate empathy and reflect today’s understanding that animals are individuals who experience joy, pain, love, and grief.”

TeachKind’s messages coincide with the launch of its new language guide, available to download for free, to help teach children about the power of words. Copies of the guide are being mailed to all elementary schools in the city.

TeachKind’s bus shelter ads are located at 914 James St., 107 Dewitt St., and 512 Milton Ave. in Syracuse. They will also appear in Albany.

TeachKind and PETA—whose shared motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit TeachKind.org or follow the group on Facebook or Instagram.