ecoLIVING London

Although it is a welcome and wondrous time of year for most humans, the spring and summer months represent a struggle to survive for our animal friends. However, from the comfort of your own backyard, you can help to relieve the daily stresses and struggles that new animal families face by simply following the suggestions below and by being aware of the natural life that surrounds you.

Help prevent an animal from requiring your assistance by following a few easy guidelines:

· Cap your chimney so that raccoons, squirrels, and birds cannot form nests and start families in there—it is much less expensive to cap your chimney than to pay for the removal of wild animals.

· Do not feed bread to wildlife. It is not nutritionally sound for them and can become impacted in their digestive tract.

· If it is impossible for you to keep your cat indoors all year, then try to keep it inside as much as possible during the spring months when animal babies are at their most vulnerable. Your cat will also benefit from this distance because it will prevent it from contracting transferable parasites and diseases from its prey—parasites and diseases that may also be transferable to your own family members.

Please feel free to contact Salthaven Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre if you would like them to help you determine whether or not an animal or bird requires your intervention.

Salthaven is a registered charitable organization that collaborates with local wildlife agencies to help sick, injured, or orphaned animals and birds. Salthaven also offers educational presentations to the public to help more people understand the wildlife with which we must share our environment and how we can lessen our intrusion into their lives. Salthaven is a strictly non-profit, volunteer-based organization funded solely from donations.

Photo Credit: Blanka Jordanov, Fawn