Helping Animals

Helping Animals in Your Community

You can help animals in your neighborhood by doing a number of things, such as:

• planting native gardens! Planting native gardens also helps to conserve water.

• supporting your local animal shelters! Ask them if they need help fostering an animal, or if they need donations of food, toys, beds, or money, or if they need volunteers!

• adopting a shelter pet! Shelter or rescue pets are preferable to adopting a pet from a breeder. Pets in the shelter are just as deserving of a loving home as pets from breeders, but many times, they're passed by and have to be put down. Make sure to do your research before adopting a pet to ensure it gets the best care!

• driving at safe speeds. When you drive at safe speeds, it reduces your chance of contributing to roadkill. It's also safer for you and other people!

• supporting your local zoo, aquarium, or animal conservation center!

• not littering! Litter can go down storm drains or get carried by the wind and end up in the sea, where it harms and kills marine life. Land animals can also get stuck in trash or ingest it and die.

• being respectful of the personal space of animals! Keep a respectful distance away and don't feed them (feeding animals can make them lazy and dependent on humans, or can be unhealthy for them and cause more harm than good (for example, feeding bread to waterfowl can lead to a wing deformity known as "angel wing," which prevents them from being able to fly)).

• disposing of your waste properly! When throwing away plastic with loops, it's important to cut the loops of six-pack rings, plastic bags, and other objects so that they have a lower chance of trapping an animal if animals somehow get into the trash or if the trash somehow finds its way into their habitats!

Support Animal Conservation Efforts

Support your local zoo, aquarium, or animal conservation center! Educate yourself on animals and the obstacles they face and what you can do to help. Spread the word!

You can also donate (e.g., time, resources, money) to support an organization that you think is making a difference. One way to donate is to symbolically adopt an animal! Many organizations offer symbolic adoption, where you donate money to help out a specific animal and receive something like a certificate or a stuffed animal, signifying that you have made a difference towards that animal's cause (note: donations may not always go towards that animal's cause, and might instead help fund conservation efforts of the organization in general. It depends on the organization!). It's a good way to support conservation efforts, educate yourself, and build a connection to that animal. Symbolic adoption also makes a great birthday present!

Shop Sustainably

You can also help animals in the choices you make every day. Shop brands that prioritize animal health and happiness. Don't shop from brands that poach, traffic, and abuse animals, or that contribute to habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, deforestation, or other harmful practices. Who you support matters! Other ways to shop sustainably include:

• buying quality things instead of cheaper things. Things that are quality will last for longer so you don't have to constantly replace them and contribute to waste. 

• buying from secondhand stores or thrifting! Buying secondhand is great because it reduces waste and reuses clothes, furniture, etc. that have already been made. 

• buying locally or in season. Buying locally or in season is a great way to support local stores and to reduce the amount of energy used to store and transport goods across long distances.

• shopping for sustainable seafood at restaurants and in the store. You can use sites like Seafood Watch in the United States and Ocean Wise and SeaChoice in Canada to help you make the right choices when it comes to eating seafood responsibly.

Does your favorite restaurant or store not support sustainable practices? Talk to them about it! 

Speak Up for What Is Right

Your voice is a powerful tool. Speak up for laws and practices that benefit animals, or speak up against laws and practices that harm animals. Use your vote to make a difference! Write a petition or a letter for a cause you are passionate about. Sign a petition to show your support. Take to social media to bring attention to your cause. Get your friends and family involved. Don't stay silent when it comes to what is right! There are organizations such as Defenders for Wildlife that provide resources for you to speak up.