Animal Safety

Animals of all species are in danger each and every day. Whether it’s throwing litter and garbage into the forest or party balloons eventually landing in the ocean and endangering sea turtles, animals are in just as much trouble as humans are. Just as people all around the globe are battling the coronavirus, animals are fighting their own battles. 

Many animals that we see around our local area each and every day are kept locked behind bars and inside of cages at local shelters and zoos. This can be extremely bad for their health!

According to Peta.org, Lila, the tiger at the Waccatee Zoo is suffering from an apparent medical condition that has left her almost completely bald. Giving her declining physical condition, it appears that she isn’t receiving adequate veterinary care.  One example of this is veal calves are confined to crates so small that the animals can’t turn around to groom themselves, adopt normal sleeping positions or stand or lie down without difficulty. Keeping animals behind bars for too long can be a very bad factor for their health. 

According to Commonwealth.org, living near the coast should bring more awareness due to the aquatic animals that are ingesting plastic debris in the ocean. Currently, it is estimated that there are 100 million tons of plastic in oceans around the world. It is expected that another 60 billion pounds will be produced this year alone. In addition to this, many sea turtles that have been killed by consuming debris had plastic bags or fishing line in their stomachs, some as small as half of a fingernail. Sea turtles are especially susceptible to the effects of consuming marine debris.

According to Conserturtles.org, here are some things that people can do to stop polluting the marine population:

  • Reduce, reuse and recycle plastics
  • Use reusable cloth bags instead of plastic bags when shopping
  • Support local, regional and nationwide bans on plastic grocery bags
  • Don’t litter. Instead, volunteer at local beach clean up events
  • Make sure to properly secure your garbage to prevent any fly away plastics
  • Don’t release ANY balloons into the air. They travel far and end up in our oceans being consumed by sea turtles that they think is food.

With all of this very important information about how humans have been endangering animals for countless years, each one of us needs to help clean the environment to make the world a safer and cleaner place.