By Nelly Attar
Finally, here are some additional steps you can carry out to make this world a better place for animals and us all:
Recycle - it saves wild animals' habitat.
Save farm animals. Eat a veggie hotdog or garden burger for lunch today.
Keep your cats indoors, especially at night. This helps both your cat stay safe.
Report animal cruelty to animal control (view the information in the second section for more details).
Don't give animals as gifts.
Play with your pets everyday. Make sure they know how much you love them.
Eat organic foods, foods that are grown without chemicals that pollute animals' habitat.
Make sure your pets are well groomed - this means baths, trimmed nails, and clean teeth.
Give your pets plenty of toys and exercise.
Take your pets to the veterinarian regularly and keep them up to date on all shots.
Learn about animals before adopting them. Make sure he/she is the right pet for you.
Leave wildlife (insects, frogs, lizards) in the wild. It is their home.
Shoot with a camera, not with a gun.
Adopt animals from shelters or rescue groups (a few links are listed down below). Do not buy animals from pet stores.
Learn how to safely act around stray animals.
Hold animals gently.
Give pet rodents, rabbits and guinea pigs cozy houses in their cages.
Visit and assist local shelters.
Keep your dog on a leash when you are out on walks.
Don't keep wildlife as pets.
Learn dog and cat body language.
Teach your pet how to understand what you want him to do by training your pet.
If your animal must live in a cage, let him or her out to play often.
Have your parent or guardian put baby birds back in their nests if they fall out.
Read books about how to care for your pets.
Start an animal club at your school.
Teach others how to care for their pets.
Buy products that do not test on animals.
Hang mobiles or stick decals on your windows so birds don’t fly into them.
Give your cat high perches and places to climb. Better yet, put it in an outdoor cat enclosure for her.
Keep poisons like antifreeze away from animals.
Collect toys and food for the animals at a local shelter.
Ask your local shelter about humane rat and mice traps.
Get help for injured and orphaned wild animals.
Leave fresh water outside for birds.
Note: Saudi pet shop regulations and licensing BAN the sale of dogs, cats, exotic species, and reptiles in pet shops. Saudi Arabia is a signatory and bound by the provisions of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITIES). The open trade in exotic, including endangered species, is a blatant, open violation of the Convention. However, many pet stores here openly violate these regulations. Please do speak up for the animals, and do report pet stores, specifically: Joon Pet Shop, Life and Nature, and African Pet Store.
