Helping Wildlife

Perhaps the greatest challenge that we face in fighting cruelty to animals is changing the way humans view animals. Each year, millions of animals are killed because they are considered pests. Beavers, bats, geese, deer, pigeons, mice, raccoons, snakes, and squirrels are just some of the animals who most often suffer horrific deaths because some people consider them a nuisance, but the list also includes bears, coyotes, ducks, foxes, mountain lions, prairie dogs, rabbits, and even wolves.

Because of the urban sprawl crisis in the United States, wild animals are forced to live in closer proximity with humans. With few alternatives available, they have no choice but to enter our homes, parks, and even downtown areas in search of food and shelter. When they do, homeowners, communities, municipalities, and state agencies often hire nuisance wildlife control operators or U.S. Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services to use cruel, archaic methods, such as injurious traps and poisons, to resolve perceived conflicts with these animals. Ducks and geese are secretly shot, gassed, and even bludgeoned to death with baseball bats. Beavers are caught and drowned in body-gripping traps or are sealed up alive in their own homes. Animals of all kinds are simply left to die from injuries or starvation.

Not only are these methods cruel, they are largely ineffective because as long as areas remain attractive and accessible to animals, more simply move in to replace those killed, resulting in a perpetual, vicious kill cycle. Ending such cruelty is a challenge, and every day, PETA works closely with activists, homeowners, businesses, and municipalities to develop effective programs to resolve conflicts between humans and wildlife without the use of cruel methods. PETA also fights tirelessly to insure that crimes against wild animals are taken seriously and that perpetrators are charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Through PETA’s hard work and persistence, more people are turning first to humane alternatives to “pest” control, which means that thousands of animals have been and will be saved from this often overlooked and unreported cruelty.

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