Every day, more and more wildlife habitat is lost to the spread of development. Give a little back by building your own humane backyard! It doesn't matter whether you have a small apartment balcony, a townhouse with a sliver of ground, a suburban yard, a sprawling corporate property or a community...

As a new homeowner susceptible to sales pitches from the garden industrial complex, I spent my early planting years salivating over glossy magazine spreads exploding with color and texture and promises of endless summers. “Flower porn” was how my husband described those lushly photographed...

With the right information and supplies, you may be able to solve some conflicts with wildlife by yourself. But when it’s time to call in a professional, here's how to find a humane, effective and ethical company. Ask for an inspection and written estimate It will be difficult for any company to...

A humane backyard is a safe haven for wildlife—a space where animals can thrive free from pesticides, trapping and other threats.

Danielle Tepper had always loved dolphins. When she went on vacation to Hawai'i, she knew she had to see them firsthand. Tepper—now a senior editor at the Humane Society of the United States—wanted to do it ethically, so she avoided captive dolphin attractions. Instead, she booked an excursion to...

As my neighbors and I stood 10 feet apart and swapped tips for scavenging kitchen staples this spring, the wilder residents of our community shared no such concerns. Squirrels twirled maple seed clusters like bouquets to reach every tidbit. Bumblebees made a mockery of social distancing in their...

The delegate seemed ready to pick a fight, already having mocked a proposed plastic bag ban and other pro-environment bills on the day’s agenda. As I finished my testimony in support of wildlife-friendly plantings, I steeled myself for a heated debate. But on that gray afternoon in February 2020...

It seemed like a good idea at the time: Buy a house with a two-acre property, let our energetic herding dog have the run of the place and spend blissful summer days digging side by side in the dirt with her. And it was blissful, watching Mattie carve out her napping spots behind the ferns and tall...

The Humane Society of the United States works with community leaders and animal care and control agencies to create Wild Neighbors communities, where humane and non-lethal solutions are given priority.

Animals with fur suffer immensely in the name of "fashion." Fortunately, more and more brands, designers and retailers are going fur-free. The companies listed below have announced that they don't sell animal fur or are phasing in a fur-free policy. (Please note that leather and shearling are not...

Glue boards (also known as glue traps) might seem like a safe solution to ridding your home of uninvited guests of the crawling, flying or scurrying sort, but they are one of the cruelest.

On summer evenings, my husband and I head to the darkest spot of our property to look for the light—in the form of fireflies rising from meadow grasses and twinkling their way into the trees. As the tulip poplars behind this spectacular display settle in for slumber, white yucca flowers open their...

If you find a wild animal in distress while you're out for a hike, traveling or even in your own backyard, get them the help they need. Find a wildlife rehabilitator in the alphabetical list below. IMPORTANT! Before you " rescue " any wild animal, make sure the animal really needs your help...