are many alternative litter products on the market today.
Supporting animal rescues “Creating sustainable societies and socio-economic systems depends on our capacity to understand and manage human- environment interactions”25. Pet industries should be viewed in such a way that
adheres to the limits of ecosystems, just as we are doing for the energy production, agriculture, and transportation industries. Sustainable closed-loop systems (in contrast to our current linear models of production, consumption, and disposal), if applied to pet ownership, would require that we support animal rescue organizations in their collective mis- sion to stop pet overproduction, while simultaneously foster- ing the benefits that pets can bring to children, families, and communities. As was mentioned earlier, pets contribute to our waste
production and the unsustainable growth of the use of resources. Supporting your local animal rescues is a great way to engage students in the most relatable form of ani- mal population management possible, and possibly the most important as domestication means that the outcomes of the existence of these animals is inextricably linked to our own evolution.
COVID-19’s effect on animal rescues
A positive outcome of the social changes due to COVID- 19 is a daily-global-carbon-dioxide-emissions decrease of 17% from January to April of this year compared to last year, the biggest drop on record. It brought CO2 emissions back to 2006 levels. For individual countries, the maximum daily decrease averaged 26%37. The United Nations has esti- mated that emissions need to decline by just under 8% each year for the next ten years to keep anticipated temperature rises to 1.5 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial aver- age. If we would like to see these trends continue, we can assist our youth in developing healthy relationships with the natural world by allowing them to explore relationships with pets since relationships with wild animals often are not accessible. It is crucial that we support our local shelters right
now because of the significant decreases in animal law enforcement, intakes, adoptions, and spay/neuter ser- vices since COVID, as the pandemic has resulted in major changes to operations. The following data consists of 1,361 organizations36: According to the American Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA), “the only method of popu- lation control that has demonstrated long-term efficacy in significantly reducing the number of animals entering ani- mal shelters is the voluntary sterilization of owned pets.” High-intensity trap, neuter/spay, return (TNR) (sterilizing 75% of the population every six months) can reduce prevent- able cat deaths by over 30%22. Through its National Spay/ Neuter Response Team mentorship program, the ASPCA has helped US communities reach 10 million spay/neuter surgeries since 200423. In 2018, the Humane Society of the United States programs and affiliates supported over 32,000 spay/neuter surgeries24. All of this has been put on hold due to COVID-19; spay and neuter surgeries have been deemed non-essential.
Page 36
Many shelters have completely transferred their cat and
dog residents to local community members willing to tem- porarily care for homeless pets. Fosters may decide to adopt their guests, but they may return them to the shelter when life returns to “normal.” Shelters are operating at a very low capacity in terms of managing pet populations and provid- ing critical community services. The biggest concern is that the unprecedented decrease in intakes and preventative pop- ulation control tools (TNR) indicates that cats and dogs are reproducing at higher rates than usual. The expected “boomerang” in the pet population may
potentially overwhelm existing facilities unless new opera- tional changes are implemented. This requires commu- nity support, which can be in the form of donating time, services, supplies, or funds. There are many ways to get involved; reach out to your local shelter to learn more about their specific needs. “Kids can always be making some handmade dog toys,
rope toys and cat toys — and we will accept those when we do open up to the public later on,” says Becky Sturmer, development director for the Lewis Clark Animal Shelter in Lewiston, Idaho. “[It’s a way to] keep the kiddos busy while they’re home”38. Here are some activities to support local animal welfare organizations from home:
• Make outdoor cat shelters for managed feral popula- tions using Styrofoam or shipping materials (e.g., pack- ing peanuts) and straw for insulation in storage bins or buckets with lids. Volunteer to care for a managed feral cat colony.
• Make upcycled toys you can donate to your local rescue organization: braided ropes out of old clothes or crinkly stuffed socks for dogs. Stick used twist-ties or pipe clean- ers into corks or fill old pill bottles with beads, buttons, or bells for cats.
• Crinkly Sock Dog Toy
Supplies • empty plastic bottle • a clean, old sock • coins or beads
Instructions • Fill the bottle with coins, beads, or something else that creates a rattle.
• Stick bottle into the sock. • Tie the sock into a knot at the top of the water bottle. Make sure it’s nice and tight!
• Easy-to-make cat wand toys
https://anticruelty.org/cat-wands Supplies • wand (You can be creative here; pictured is a cardboard tube from a dry-cleaner hanger.)
• empty cat treat pouch or another repurposed bag
• tape • scissors
Instructions • Cut vertically (from the top of the pouch to the
Green Teacher 126
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
