HOW TO BECOME
ACTIVELY INVOLVED
FOR ANIMALS IN YOUR
COMMUNITY
Inform yourself about animal welfare problems.
Become acquainted with your state’s wildlife code and
animal regulations and report violations promptly.
Scan newspapers and magazines for articles
pertaining to animals and/ or animal abuses. When
appropriate, write letters to organizations or
companies involved with a story to either complain or
praise them. If complaints directly to the group involved
are not effective, write to local government officials.
Write letters to local and state officials as well as
national congressmen and congresswomen
concerning animal welfare legislation. Each letter you
write is taken to mean that anywhere from 50 to 500
other people in your area hold the same opinion.
Letters of praise can be just as effective as letters of
complaint.
Inform others about the plight of animals. Letters
written to the editor of a local newspaper, calls to a
radio talk show or material passed out at a dog show,
club meeting, or other event, are all excellent ways to
spread the word.
Encourage clubs to undertake animal or ecology
related projects. Possibilities include: showing animal
films, sponsoring trips to wildlife preserves, arranging
for talks by veterinarians, wildlife officials or humane
society officers, planting special food and cover plants
for wildlife. When planting cover, be sure to use native
species, not imported plants. Research what types of
food sources are needed by indigenous wildlife. You
might want to check with the agriculture department for
information of this type.
Individuals or groups might wish to donate books on
wildlife, pet care, or ecology to a local library or school
and ask that it hold an animal week featuring a display
or promotion of these books.
Circulate petitions on important issues such as
attempting to ban the use of the steel-jaw leg hold trap,
predator hunts and cock fighting.
Set up a humane education program in your local
school system. Perhaps you could initiate a simple
one hour program on pet care and animal problems
for one or two grade levels. Teachers generally
welcome volunteers from the community.
Join: Animal Aid Network, Inc.
Post Office Box 1303
Clarkdale, Arizona 86324
(520) 639-3980
