Thousands of animals die yearly in netting installed to prevent them from stealing fruit from trees. These animals tend to die horrific deaths, sustaining multiple injuries and then dying slowly. In addition, when tree nets are disposed of improperly, they continue to kill animals. Animals find their way into discarded nets, get tangled, and die. These tragedies can be avoided by following some simple guidelines. The first and most important way to ensure that animals don’t get tangled is to buy netting that passes the finger test. If you can put your finger through the holes, animals can get tangled. Mesh size should be less than 5mm, or approximately 0.2 inches. The second option is to cover individual fruit by using fruit protection bags instead of whole tree bags. In either case, make sure to use white netting, as it is the color most easily seen by wildlife. Some wildlife rescue groups also suggest planting more than needed so some fruit can be shared with the animals who come to visit.