Animal Help Now

Greetings, all. We have accidentally released a test version of our Animal Help Now iPhone app. The results it produces are not in the correct order. We are working to fix this; in the meantime, we recommend using our web platform, at www.AHNow.org, or our Android app. We apologize for this mix-up.

Animal Help Now - Emergency Resource Animal Help Now provides the best wildlife 911 app and helps humans be better neighbors to wildlife. The nonprofit serves the entire United States.

Please give wildlife parents the opportunity to raise their offspring without kidnapping them.

Just because you see wildlife offspring alone, does not mean they are orphaned or abandoned.

We understand it may seem strange or unnatural but many wildlife young are left alone while parents are off in search of food or to keep predators away from their offspring.

If you are concerned, please take photos & contact a local licensed wildlife rehabilitator or facility near you. Many have social media pages & will respond to questions as well.

Q: In the United States, can I move a bird's nest with eggs or baby birds in the nest?

A: There are very few exceptions, so the short answer is NO. The majority of birds & their "live" nests, a nest with eggs or live offspring, are federally protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) of 1918.

This law prohibits individuals from killing, capturing, selling, trading, transporting, or having possession of protected birds, their feathers, the nests, & eggs without a permit or license.

One of the main reasons it is not recommended to move a bird's nest, especially with eggs, is the bird will not search or look for their nest and simply assume the nest and babies are gone. The majority of birds will "fledge" or leave the nest between 10 and 21 days. This really isn't that long.

So, early spring please start being mindful and aware that birds are looking for places to build nests. These nests could be in dryer vents, mailboxes, wreaths, hanging plant baskets, trees, bushes, grills, campers, boats, cars, or patio furniture. Even bicycle helmets & boots.

And one last thing, adult birds will not abandon their offspring because you handled or placed them back in the nest. Many birds simply have a poor sense of smell & cannot detect human scent. (There are some birds who have well developed olfactory systems but even these birds will not abandon offspring handled by humans.)

Https://ahnow.org/blog/2025/05/30/ignorance-can-be-illegal-and-it-can-kill/

Trapping & relocating, not the solution you think it is. Long but informative read!

When Jack Murphy from Urban Wildlife Rescue Inc endorses an article on humane wildlife control, our ears prick up. And when we see the author is Katherine McGill from 411 Raccoon Solutions (FL) , we're all in. This is such an important read. It was written for humane wildlife control operators, but it's chock-full of good information for the rest of us.

Successful catch, or utter failure? You never know if the raccoon you caught is the "guilty party", or, just one drawn to the free meal in your trap. Pretty much any 10 year old can bait a trap and catch something. Frankly, it is downright lazy, and cruel - and ineffective.
You dump this animal miles away and believe you spared his/her life. Hopefully, was not a mother and that her babies were not left to perish, slowly. When they are found, it is too late. Their mother is long gone, going frantic for them, terrified in a foreign land... while we tell ourselves how lucky she is to have been relocated?
These heartbroken now-orphans will cost a volunteer rehabilitator several hundred dollars, months of time, risk of communicable shelter disease, and less-than-optimum survival skills without their mother.
Now, multiply this one single "good deed" times tens of thousands, year after year... Is that humane? For whom?
Fact: There is no such thing as "humane trapping and relocation". Fact: There is NO Nirvana place where existing animals welcome newcomers you just dumped in their territory - None. We have 15 years of GPS raccoon translocation studies to prove this isn't humane and has poor survival rates of 18%. We have hard science proving conflicts are best resolved in situ; eg, not removing animals. With rules & regs that allow people to do this to our wildlife while KNOWING that over 90% of conflicts today can be resolved without removing the animal, what more can we do as advocates and professionals to ensure proper actions are taken -- and that the science (and our intent to do our best by them) is upheld and better achieved?

1) Recommend people to the most qualified sources we have available to us today. Know your own limitations in this field. Most people will appreciate your suggestions and compassion, but make no mistake that they still want their resolution ASAP. If suggestions are all you can offer, get better at them and still never hang up without putting the number of an HWC operator in their hands. www.AnimalHelpNow.org is the most complete listing of HWCO's. Choose "Conflict" instead of "Emergency" to find them. (HWCO = A Trained Humane Wildlife Conflict Operator)
1a) Even if there is not an HWCO in their zipcode, there will still be one listed there! Most of these Specialists will help people to hire and properly guide a local NWCO provider. They, the paying customer, can dictate what methods are used by any NWCO they need to hire **IF** they know specifically what to demand is done. (NWCO = Nuisance wildlife control operator, aka "trapper")
2) Do not throw out a dozen "remedies" on social media or on the phone as if they alone are silver-bullet complete resolutions, especially without knowing the full story and circumstances. Wildlife conflict resolution involves many steps with a critical goal of an end result that prevents it from happening again.
2a) The more these "humane remedies" are thrown out as incomplete solutions the more they risk failing. Any failure results in less respect and traction for the HWCO industry to prevail and change the paradigm. (The conventional trapping industry loves it when a humane idea fails, and they love to talk about that time it failed as if it always fails. They need less ammunition, not more, please)
3) Do not rush to get babies to a rehabilitator until it is the absolute last resort. Job #1 is to REUNITE healthy babies back with their mothers. Please know your limitations on advising reuniting steps. What works for one age may be unsafe for another age, etc. Nothing feels more awesome and heroic for both you and a Finder than succeeding with a reunite! ❤
3a) Never accept statements of "no mother around". Push for more information which more often than not reveals there is a possibility she still is. You, like I, will never forget the first time you took the advice that babies don't start falling from nest unless mom has been gone for too long. Two hours later, there was the frantic, panicked mother. Lesson learned.
4) Change your state "nuisance" rules and regs, get engaged. As long as the rules allow our wildlife to be killed/removed MERELY FOR BEING SEEN, we are all failing. By all of us, I mean every human on this planet. Every advocate, every "science-abiding" state agency, every animal control law enforcement department charged with upholding state animal cruelty statutes, and every conventional operator selling the worst, most ineffective, money-wasting services there are to unsuspecting, uninformed (thus VULNERABLE) Consumers.... Want to change that industry? Be that change ❤
411 Raccoon Solutions (FL)

Please help us get the word out. Be an early adopter. This app will soon save thousands upon thousands of lives, just as our flagship Animal Help Now app does today.

Pet Help & Rescue: Introduction and Setup (Extended) The Pet Help & Rescue app is a friends and neighbors approach to ke...

This clever act of kindness saved a baby bird and kept a family together. Mary Lou in Florida noticed a nestling northern mockingbird beneath her car. The bird's mother, clearly agitated and distraught, was nearby watching. Mary Lou figured out which tree likely contained the original nest. She hung a wicker basket from a branch, lined it with soft grasses and set the nestling inside. The mother soon returned to feed the baby in the new nest. Props, Mary Lou!

We always want to try to reunite or renest dependent offspring with their parents when possible.

https://ahnow.org/resources.php

Which animals should be assessed by a wildlife rehabilitator if you don't see signs of injury?
A. One who was in a cat or dog's mouth
B. A bird who flew into a window
C. An animal who was hit by a car

Answer: all of the above!

A. Wild animals who are caught by a cat typically will need antibiotics. Cat saliva contains a bacteria, Pasteurella, that is toxic to mammals, birds and reptiles. Animals caught by a dog can have internal injuries.

B. Birds who collide with windows should be kept in a secure location for 3 to 4 hours for observation, ideally by a wildlife rehabilitator. Collisions can cause concussions and other injuries, including a rupture of one or more of a bird's air sacs, which may become evident from a ballooning of the skin or the appearance of a blister forming. Other immediate concerns include bleeding, broken wings, stargazing and inability to use their legs. These are all considered emergencies.

C. Some animals who have been hit by a car may seem okay but like humans can be in shock with internal injuries. It is best to secure the animal and contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator.

Play it safe and use Animal Help Now to locate your nearest wildlife professional.

*Please remember, it is never a good idea to feed, give water to, or attempt to medicate injured and orphaned wildlife.

It’s Be Kind to Animals Week. Remember that using pesticides and herbicides on lawns and gardens is dangerous to our health, animals’ health and the planet in general. Such poisons kill bees, frogs and more.

In addition, the majority of songbirds feed their offspring insects throughout the summer. Spraying pesticides causes leg & beak deformities & even death for new hatchlings.

Is that babybird in trouble? Please do not be a babybird napper!

How can you tell if one should be rescued or left alone? For information on what to do, see https://ahnow.org/resources.php .