Every day, more and more wildlife habitat is lost to the spread of development. Give a little back by building your own humane backyard! It doesn't matter whether you have a small apartment balcony, a townhouse with a sliver of ground, a suburban yard, a sprawling corporate property or a community...
People in New York City expect to contend with millions of other humans. They don’t always realize that in some boroughs they also live side by side with thousands of bucks, does and fawns. So recently the city plastered its transit system with ads that carried pictures of these wild city residents...
The concept of overpopulation, or how many deer are too many for a given area, is a subjective one. While it may be true that deer densities are at historic highs, this statement by itself has little meaning. To begin with, the forests of today in no way represent historical conditions in this...
It all began with a deer on the cover of All Animals magazine. Terry Kline, administrator of the Botstiber Foundation outside Philadelphia, saw the photo in the spring of 2014 and turned to a feature about managing deer populations with fertility control (“Out of season,” May/June 2014). For years...
What are captive hunts? Captive hunting operations—also referred to as "shooting preserves," "canned hunts," or "game ranches"—are private trophy hunting facilities that offer their customers the opportunity to kill exotic and native animals trapped within enclosures. Some facilities have even...
With the right information and supplies, you may be able to solve some conflicts with wildlife by yourself. But when it’s time to call in a professional, here's how to find a humane, effective and ethical company. Ask for an inspection and written estimate It will be difficult for any company to...
Killing programs aimed at reducing deer populations are often controversial, difficult to execute safely in urban and suburban areas, and don't result in long-term population reduction. Wildlife fertility control offers a humane way to manage deer populations where necessary and appropriate. PZP...
Danielle Tepper had always loved dolphins. When she went on vacation to Hawaii, she knew she had to see them firsthand. Tepper—now a senior editor at the Humane Society of the United States—wanted to do it ethically, so she avoided captive dolphin attractions. Instead, she booked an excursion to...
Last summer, deer snipped the tops off goldenrods and helped themselves to swamp milkweed buds. They had wild lettuces for breakfast and black raspberries for dessert. Despite the diverse tasting menus on offer, most plants in my garden didn’t tempt these gentle herbivores, who sampled purpletop...
Deer conflicts in the garden can be easily avoided or minimized thanks to a variety of readily available solutions. There may not be a perfect answer, but we do have a good toolbox for you to work with. Tolerance is a good thing Tolerance is needed when figuring out the best solution for your...
As my neighbors and I stood 10 feet apart and swapped tips for scavenging kitchen staples this spring, the wilder residents of our community shared no such concerns. Squirrels twirled maple seed clusters like bouquets to reach every tidbit. Bumblebees made a mockery of social distancing in their...
The delegate seemed ready to pick a fight, already having mocked a proposed plastic bag ban and other pro-environment bills on the day’s agenda. As I finished my testimony in support of wildlife-friendly plantings, I steeled myself for a heated debate. But on that gray afternoon in February 2020...