Omaha Man Nabs Award for Saving Squirrel Stuck in Plastic Bowl

PETA Urges Everyone to Help Protect Wildlife by Crushing Cups and Cans, Putting Bottle Tops Back On

For Immediate Release:
February 7, 2017

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

A Compassionate Action Award is on its way from PETA to Omaha resident Joey Wolfe, who came to the aid of a squirrel whose head had gotten stuck inside the plastic bowl of a single-serving cereal container. Afraid that the squirrel would be hit by a car, Wolfe ran into the street and managed to remove the bowl, allowing the animal to run off to a nearby tree unharmed.

“This man’s kindness saved this squirrel from the panic and terror of slowly starving to death or being run over by a car,” says PETA Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA reminds everyone to crush cans and cups before throwing them in the trash, in order to prevent wildlife from getting trapped inside.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—has tips on its website for living in harmony with wildlife and properly disposing of trash, such as by keeping all garbage in tightly sealed chew-proof containers, rinsing out aluminum cans and putting the tops inside so that they can’t cut an animal’s tongue, crushing cans and cups, and cutting open empty cardboard and plastic containers so that small animals can’t get their faces or heads trapped inside them.

Wolfe will receive a framed certificate, a box of delicious vegan cookies, and copies of PETA’s posters reminding everyone to crush all cans and containers, which he can put up in his community.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.