As reliably as it follows winter, spring is accompanied by traditions: spring cleaning, new growth, and seasonal holidays—all with implications for animals. While cleaning out your attic, you may find a nest of squirrels. Your garden blooms, and wildlife moves in. Your family wants to celebrate Easter—but which eggs you choose can mean the difference for hens trapped in battery cages.
Spring is a time to celebrate life—which is why we have compiled a guide of simple ways to make springtime living something the animals can celebrate as well. So thumb through our guide—you might even find some fresh ideas for your garden, home, and holiday.
Spring Cleaning
Removing the clutter and cobwebs of winter may be cathartic, but cleaning up your house and yard may lead to some run-ins with the many critters who want to make your home their castle. Trimming trees, mowing lawns, and cleaning chimneys and attics can accidentally lead to the injury or orphaning of your wild neighbors. Whether you're a homeowner, landscaper or a spring cleaning professional, our tips keep your cathartic cleaning spree friendly to wildlife.
Want to double the benefits to wildlife in your purge? If you run across an old fur in your closet or your aunt's attic, this is your chance to give it back to the animals. Donate furs through our Coats for Cubs program. We will turn the furs over to wildlife rehabilitators to use in comforting and saving orphaned animals. In the spirit of springtime, the national vintage clothing retailer, Buffalo Exchange, has partnered with our Coats for Cubs program to make it easier than ever for you to give fur back to the animals between now and April 22, Earth Day. (Find a Buffalo Exchange location to donate near you.)
1. Humane spring cleaning and home repair
2. Give fur back to the animals
Grow a Humane Garden
All winter, you've been planning your garden, waiting for the first scent of spring. Before you dive headlong into the dirt, consider a few ways you can make your patch of earth bloom while helping wildlife too. Create your own wildlife refuge in the thick of the city with a rooftop garden. Or build your garden around a wildlife theme, such as butterflies or hummingbirds. If your garden will likely receive some unexpected visits from wild neighbors such as deer, squirrels, or raccoons, learn ways to strike a balance with nature, and prevent any conflicts before they begin.
3. Grow a Butterfly Garden
4. Make your garden hum with hummingbirds
5. Create your own sanctuary in the city: build a rooftop garden
6. Strategies for solving conflicts with your wild neighbors in your garden
Babes in the Woods
Many people who see a baby animal alone assume it is orphaned or injured. In fact, that usually is not the case—but here's what you should know when it is.
7. Keep an eye out for springtime infants
On the Road Again
In the spring, it is especially important for drivers to be alert for encounters with wildlife. Here are some tips on ensuring safety—yours as well as theirs.
8. Watch out for wildlife
Spring Break '06
Bound for beaches with friends or family? If you are, you can help marine mammals in captivity by avoiding swim-with-the-dolphins programs and petting pools. Set on seeing animals on holiday? No problem; you can give dolphins and other marine mammals a real break by visiting a wildlife sanctuary instead.
9. Skip the swim-with-the-dolphins programs or petting pools in your travels
Spring Fashion
HSUS's Fashion Industry Liaison Annie Judah traveled to Fashion Week in Los Angeles to remind fashion leaders
—and fashion followers—of the cruelty of fur and the beauty of going fur-free. She also picked up an insider's look at the season's cruelty-free fashion trends.
10. Let fur-free be your spring fashion statement
Easter Special
The familiar, smiling icon of the Easter Bunny is a stark contrast to the existence the 8.5 million rabbits raised and slaughtered for meat each year in the United States. Like egg-laying hens, the rabbits are confined in tiny cages that thwart normal behaviors. Learn how your Easter celebration can make a difference. Also, find out the essentials of protecting your pets from surprising dangers this time of year.
11. Read why keeping rabbit off your holiday menu can make the difference for millions of Easter bunnies
12. Use cage-free eggs for Easter egg dying
13. Take five simple steps to keep your pets safe when the chocolate and relatives make a holiday visit
