Save Animals

The 9 Absolute Best Ways Kids Can Save Animals

Do you love animals and wish you could do more to help them? Well, you can! And you’ve already started just by reading this list. Check out these super-easy things that YOU can do right now (and every day) to help animals:

1. Be a Lifesaver for Dogs and Cats

Since dogs, cats, and other animals can’t ask for help themselves, they need compassionate kids like you to use your voice to make sure they’re safe and happy. Be sure to ask your parents to call animal control or a local humane society right away if you see any animals in dangerous situations.

For example, if an animal is trapped in a car on a hot day; tied up or chained in a neighbor’s yard without proper food, water, or shelter; or wandering outside alone or if he or she appears to be sick, injured, or too skinny—the animal needs help. Your help could make you a lifesaver for an animal in need!

2. Keep Animals Out of Your Closet

Every year, cows, sheep, rabbits, and other animals suffer when their skin and fur are used for clothing, shoes, and accessories. The good news? It’s super-easy to help these cuties by always checking the clothing’s label and asking your parents to buy only leather-free, wool-free, and fur-free clothing for your compassionate closet!

3. Be Nice to Bugs

Insects are really cool—seriously! Ants, for example, can carry up to 20 times their bodyweight and have been on Earth for more than 100 million years. Wow, that’s a long time! Poisoning bugs, like ants and cockroaches, hurts them AND you since the poison is also dangerous to humans. Instead, try placing natural products like cinnamon sticks and garlic around your house to keep bugs away.

4. Always Shop Cruelty-Free

Countless animals, including mice and rabbits, are hurt in cruel experiments that test products like shampoo, soap, and makeup every year. Take a stand against animal testing by buying only cruelty-free products! Just be sure to check the back of a product for PETA’s cruelty-free bunny logo before you or your parents buy it!

5. Adopt Your Best Friend

Every year, millions of cute, lovable dogs, cats, and other animals end up in shelters because there aren’t enough good homes for them. If your family’s thinking about welcoming a new furry family member into your home (and you have the time, space, and financial means to do so), be sure to adopt him or her from your local shelter—never buy from a pet store or breeder!

6. Choose Animal-Free Adventures

Animals in captivity live sad, lonely lives. Animals in zoos, like lions, are forced to live inside tiny cages that are nothing like their natural homes in the wild. Elephants used in circuses are taken away from their mothers as babies, abused, chained for days at a time, and forced to perform complicated “tricks” for humans. At SeaWorld, orcas and other marine animals are also forced to perform silly tricks for people, and they’re confined to tiny pools that are way too small for them.

If your parent or a teacher mentions going to a zoo, circus, or marine park for a family outing or fieldtrip, be sure to tell him or her that animals aren’t ours to use for entertainment and suggest animal-free adventures instead, like museums, animal sanctuaries, or your local park!

7. Let Birds Fly Free

Imagine being at the beach or park with your friends when, all of a sudden, a giant starts chasing after you. It’d be pretty scary, right? Well, that’s what it’s like for birds like pigeons, ducks, and geese when people run after them. Birds are really cool animals. They migrate hundreds or even thousands of miles every year! Instead of chasing them around, play games like Frisbee or tag and explain to your friends why they should do the same.

8. Make a Difference for Animals at School

You can even save animals while you’re at school by saying NO to classroom dissection (request an animal-free alternative instead), asking your principal to add a delish meat-free option like veggie burgers in your school’s cafeteria menu, and speaking up if your teacher is thinking about getting a “class pet.” (Animals kept as “pets” at school live in cages their whole lives, and they’re often forgotten about at the end of the school year.)

9. Go Vegan

Last but not least, going vegan is the absolute best way to help animals. Chickens, pigs, fish, cows, and other animals who are raised for food value their lives just as much as you and I value ours. They’re not nuggets, drumsticks, burgers, roasts, steaks, chops, bacon strips, sausage links, or hot dogs—and they definitely don’t have any spare ribs!

Going vegan is easier than ever, and you’ll save the lives of more than 100 animals every year just by not eating them. That’s a lot of animals saved—all because of you. 🙂

Pledge to go vegan!


Animals aren’t ours to eat, wear, experiment on, use for entertainment, or abuse in any way. Want to find out more cool ways to help animals?