Five ways to show appreciation for animals during ‘Be Kind to Animals Week’

THIS week’s National Be Kind to Animals Week serves to remind us that animals, both pets and wildlife, all have a place in the ecosystem and deserve to be looked after and not harmed.

The Centre for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) in Durban encourages everyone to treat our wildlife with respect, not just this week, but always.

Here are five ways you can show kindness and love to animals:

Don’t speed

Speeding motorists in our suburbs and towns pose a major threat for pets and wildlife.

‘High animal dash zones’ are areas with a high concentration of bush, which is home to an abundance of wildlife.

Juvenile animals are not streetwise and are more prone to be hit by vehicles.

So slow down when travelling through bushy areas and help preserve our wildlife.

Don’t litter

Instead of discarding your food and beverage packaging on the ground, pick up one item of litter each day, regardless of where you are.

This simple act could help save the life of an animal which might otherwise choke on, or become entangled in, the plastic.

Live in harmony with wildlife

As we are taking over more land the more we urbanise, it is essential that we learn to live harmoniously with the wildlife whose natural habitat we are encroaching.

CROW has experienced an increase in incidents of cruelty to vervet monkeys, with recent cases of monkeys being poisoned, shot or intentionally driven over.

Monkeys are highly intelligent animals, but are creatures of habit, often establishing certain gardens as preferred food targets.

By following CROW’s simple yet effective advice, your garden can be made undesirable to monkeys in ways that do not harm the animals:

• Hang reflective items such CDs from trees or at ‘monkey access points’ (monkeys dislike reflective items).
• Strategically place rubber snakes around your garden or on windowsills (be sure to move them regularly though because if they are always in the same place, monkeys will wisen to the trick).
• Spray with water, but only at the pressure of a children’s water gun.
• Keep your windows on the smallest gap to ensure they cannot climb through.
• Do not feed wildlife.

Animals can go up to 48 hours without food or water, so resist the urge to feed them.

Do not feed or give water to an injured animal and do not feed milk, cereal or bread as they are unable to digest it.

Report wildlife in distress

If you see an animal that could be injured or suffering, contact Irene Liversage at CROW’s

Empangeni depot on 084 5877535 or report it to your local SPCA.

Avoid interacting with wildlife

To avoid wildlife becoming habituated to people, CROW strongly discourages interaction with wild animals.

This ensures wild animals retain their natural fear of people, which will best serve them when re-released into the wild.

About CROW

CROW is the only wildlife rehabilitation centre in Durban registered to work with all indigenous wildlife found in KZN.

Every year CROW rescues, rehabilitates and releases more than 3 000 orphaned, injured and displaced wild animals.

As a registered NPO, CROW is 100% reliant on donations from the public.

For more information or to donate, contact CROW on info@crowkzn.co.za.

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