Environmentally Responsible Pet Ownership

Copied from Terra-Cin and written by Ee Lynn of Covert Operations78

ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERSHIP

Some environmentalists claim that the best way to be an environmentally-friendly pet owner is to have no pets at all, because pets consume so much water and food and generate so much more disposable packaging and waste that it will put a strain on the Planet. However, most people would agree that animals bring us joy and happiness and improve our physical and mental health. Here are ways to ensure that you and your beloved animal companion do your part for the environment:

1. Adopt only animals that have been selectively bred to live with humans and depend on humans for care and companionship, such as dogs, cats and rabbits. Do not support the wildlife trade by purchasing exotic animals such as sugar gliders, raccoons, green iguanas and Indian star tortoises.

2. Opt to adopt – Our animal shelters and pounds are full of animals in need of good homes. By adopting from shelters and pounds, you are not only preventing the needless killing of healthy animals, you are playing your part in reducing the numbers of unwanted animals that may end up abandoned. Animal breeders contribute to the problems of pet abandonment and stray overpopulation by bringing more animals into the world when there is already an existing shortage of natural resources and fresh water.

3. Spay or neuter your pet – Pet overpopulation creates social and environmental problems such as noise and faecal pollution. Hungry stray animals scavenge in landfills and waste bins, chase people in their search for food, and contract and transmit diseases. The easiest and best way to end the plight of stray animals is by ensuring that your pet is neutered before he or she has had the chance to reproduce. You will save yourself the agony of trying to find good homes for the offspring, and feeding and caring for more animals than you could afford to.

4. Clean up after your pet – Letting your pet eliminate waste in public areas is antisocial, and could lead to groundwater pollution. There are several eco-friendly ways of disposing of pet waste. Flushing it down the toilet will ensure that your pet’s waste ends up in the sewage treatment plant. Try getting a pet waste composter where available. These bins are buried halfway into the ground and then filled with pet waste. From time to time, digester powder and water or activated charcoal is added to help the pet waste break down safely. Burying pet waste in ornamental garden beds (not in your compost bin or vegetable patch!) is an acceptable way of dealing with pet waste. Just ensure that it is away from water sources (lakes, streams, wells, irrigation canals). Dig a hole between 6 inches and 1 foot deep, fill it with pet waste and cover it thoroughly with soil to prevent flies and other disease vectors from being attracted to it. It is advisable
to bury pet waste a little distance apart each time to allow time and space for decomposition. Putting too much pet waste together in a hole may result in the formation of leachate or may attract flies and rodents. You can bury pet waste together with newspaper scraps, biodegradable litter, garden waste, lawn trimmings, sand and/or vegetable waste.

5. Go organic – If you could afford it, make or buy organic food, treats and/or toys for your pets. Organic products are better for the environment because they are produced without chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides, and thus are less likely to pollute water, soil and air or disrupt the ecosystem. In addition, organic products are better for your beloved companion because they contain no artificial colouring, flavouring, phthalates, preservatives or animal by-products from diseased animals.

6. Reuse old items and repurpose them into pet toys – Who says your pet needs plastic knick-knacks to be happy? Cut old t-shirts up and braid or knot them into tug toys, or sew 2 pieces together and stuff them with t-shirt scraps to make cushions and rugs for your pampered furry one. Old shuttlecocks, tennis balls, wine bottle corks, cardboard toilet roll tubes and small (but secure!) containers make great cat toys. Unwanted cardboard boxes of all sizes make great hideaways and cubby holes for cats, puppies and other small animal companions.

7. Use natural cleaning products – Your pet’s nose and paws may be more sensitive than the average human's nose or hands, so make sure you do your pet and the environment a favour by using only natural cleaning agents. Fruit or veggie waste enzyme can remove dirt, and lemon juice helps to deodorise ‘accident’ spots and deter pets from using the same spot as a toilet again. Lemon and orange peel work well as a chemical-free deterrent to stop your cat from climbing up the kitchen counter or scratching the furniture. A drop of multipurpose organic/biodegradable cleaning solution in a pail of water is good enough for cleaning the floor, gutters and kennels/cages. Choose biodegradable soaps and shampoos with natural ingredients.


8. A Friend Is For Life – A companion animal is a long term commitment, and he or she will depend on you for food, shelter, medical care and companionship for his or her entire life, so never treat your pet as a fad or an accessory. We depend on them for love, security and companionship – at the very least, we owe them a better life.

Klinik Kembiri : Benefits Of Neutering

What is Spay/Neuter?

The term neutering refers to a minor operation to remove the reproductive organs of the male and female animal, while spaying is specific to female animals.

1. Stray Animal Population Control

   Thousands of stray animals and unwanted litters face euthanasia or are suffering on the streets, please neuter your pets and help prevent this problem. Starting from 2 cats, you can end up with as many as 20,000 kittens and cats in a matter of 7 years.

   
   

   Do you have the means to care for them or to find them homes? The majority of strays cannot get sufficient food, are exposed to diseases and to the taunting and cruelty of heartless people; they often also end up maimed or dead from accidents. Don’t be a part of the problem, be a part of the solution.

   
   

2. Heath Benefits

   • Females
     - Decreases the risk of mammary tumors (breast cancer)
     - Eliminates the risk of uterine infections (pyometra)
     - Reduces the risk of TVT (Transmissible Venereal Tumour), a sexually transmitted cancer.
     - Avoid the risks of pregnancy and birth.
     
   • Males
     - Reduces the chances of TVT
     - Eliminates the risk of testicular cancer
     - Markedly reduces the risk of prostrate cancer, anal gland cancer
     
   
   

3. 1.Behaviour Benefits

• Reduces stress
• Prevents wandering and roaming in search of females, which can lead to:
  - road accidents
  - fighting leading to wounds and infections
  - spread of diseases such as TVT
• Eliminates marking of territory by urine spraying and reduces odor
• Reduces interdog aggression.
• Avoid embarrassing moments where dogs like to 'mount' on peoples leg.
• Eliminate the the frantic pacing and crying while in heat.
• Spayed and neutered pets are more relaxed, and more homely

http://spca.org.my/v51/klinikkembiri_benefits.php

Polystyrene Products Still Harmful, Wasteful and Polluting

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

POLYSTYRENE PRODUCTS STILL HARMFUL, WASTEFUL AND POLLUTING

I refer to the letter “Polystyrene Use No Threat To Climate” (http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/19psfo/Article/index_html, 18 Feb 2010) and wish to point out the sophistry of the arguments put forward in the said letter.

The only reason polystyrene food packaging was widely used during the Thaipusam celebration is not because it is a well-loved and health-giving form of packaging, but because consumers were not offered any alternatives. There were no regulations or incentives in place to discourage the use of plastic and polystyrene products at the said event. 20 years ago, banana leaves and metal ‘thali’ plates would have been the order of the day, but polystyrene packaging has since become the cheapest, though by no means the best, option.

It is also a myth that polystyrene products are environmentally safe simply because they are declared ‘recyclable’. Putting a container with a mobius loop embossed on it in a recycling bin is no guarantee that it will be recycled. Not only are there no facilities in Malaysia that will collect or accept polystyrene for recycling, it is common knowledge that polystyrene is not recycled once contaminated with food.

It is unfortunate that recycling is often promoted as an end in itself without regard as to whether it is worth the time, expense, energy and resources. A product that is ‘recyclable’ does not necessarily have post-consumer recycled content, nor does it mean it will be recycled upon disposal.

In many instances, recycling would not even make environmental or economic sense. Products such as polystyrene and plastic bags have notoriously low scrap value and it would cost more to recycle the said products than to manufacture new ones. In many cases, recycling such products would require more energy and generate more pollution. Clearly, reducing the use of disposable products is still the most important and effective way of preventing and managing waste in the first place.

The argument that styrofoam is harmless because it is ‘90% air’ is misleading and untruthful. Industrial and vehicle emissions can be categorized as ‘air’ too but remains harmful to health and environmental safety. When styrofoam is fatally ingested by wildlife and marine animals, can we continue to argue that no harm is done to the animal because all they have consumed is ‘mostly air’?

It is precisely because of its lightness that polystyrene foam products end up becoming litter. Carried by wind and water, even the most scrupulously disposed of polystyrene foam product may end up in oceans, waterways and the digestive tracts of animals.

The writer’s argument that polystyrene products are safe is corroborated almost entirely by reports from the plastics and styrene products industry, which of course raises questions as to the neutrality and impartiality of the said reports. The US Environmental Protection Agency, on the other hand, has found short and long-term health effects related to styrene exposure.

Polystyrene products today contain no chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) not due to any magnanimous initiative on the part of the plastics industry, but because of a worldwide ban on the ozone-depleting substance. However, polystyrene and plastics are still made from petroleum, a non-renewable, fast-disappearing and heavily polluting resource. Also, benzene, a material used in the production of polystyrene, is a known human carcinogen.

If, as the writer argued, the problem of pollution and littering lies not with the product but with cultural attitudes, then by banning or restricting the sale and use of polystyrene products, we can greatly reduce the opportunity for the creation of litter. When there are effective deterrents against the use of disposable packaging, then consumers would be more likely to switch to non-disposable tableware and food and beverage containers, or at the very least, to biodegradable packaging.

It is for good reason that institutions, cities and countries around the world have banned or severely curtailed the use of polystyrene products. We can take a step in the right direction by instituting public education measures and implementing and enforcing laws to reduce waste at its source and curb the sale and use of disposable packaging.


WONG EE LYNN
Committee Member
Malaysian Nature Society
Selangor Branch

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