By Paula Fitzsimmons
Wild animal species once largely restricted to rural areas have become regular urban denizens. In my own mid-sized city, it’s no longer uncommon to see foxes, coyotes, and turkeys roaming freely in residential areas. Several months ago we even spotted what appeared to be a bobcat on the arm of a busy highway. These kinds of sightings were rare as recently as a decade ago.
By Paula Fitzsimmons with Angela Grimes
All animal protection and care jobs are important in their own right. Animal caregivers, administrators, veterinary professionals, humane officers, sanctuary operators, and others working in this field all play a vital role. Yet their important work wouldn’t be possible without incoming cash. Animal food, rent, employee salaries, vet services, and administrative costs don’t come cheaply. Yep, it’s similar to running a business.
By Paula Fitzsimmons
Have you ever seen a darling pair of dachshund earrings, a must-have giraffe tee-shirt, or a hand-crafted cat toy, and thought, I could sell that or I could make that. Selling your wares online may seem straight-forward enough (and in some regards it is once you gain experience) but there’s much more to the process than slapping a few products on a website and hoping for sales.
It’s imperative to know what you’re doing – not just in order to succeed, but to avoid losing your money – or sanity – in the process.
By Paula Fitzsimmons with Adam Roberts
If you’ve thought about a career with a major wildlife advocacy organization, you’re not alone. It’s a dream for many an animal activist. . . so your contributions have to be pretty special.
Passion and a desire to make a difference for animals are, of course, vital to working in this field – but so are other skills and characteristics. To help define what this specifically means, I’ve asked Born Free’s chief executive officer, Adam M. Roberts for his input.
By Paula Fitzsimmons
The tragic death of Cecil, the lion killed outside of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park has sparked outrage. And rightly so. Trophy hunting – the killing of an animal for the sake of “sport” – is despicable in its own right. What adds to this fury is that Cecil was apparently beloved, and according to National Geographic, one of the region’s best known and most studied lions. And with fewer than 21,000 lions remaining in Africa (according to African Wildlife Foundation) how can trophy hunting even be justified?