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| Wildlife Rehabilitators are trained and licensed
volunteers, entrusted with the responsibility of caring for sick,
injured, and orphaned wildlife with the goal of releasing their patients
back into the wild. They are people who care enough to study, and to
learn how to care for countless wild animals each year so they can be
released back into the wild. Wildlife Rehabilitators are volunteers
licensed by the State and Federal Government. A Wildlife Rehabilitator
is a person who meets all government testing and requirements. They are
not paid, funded, or reimbursed. Wildlife Rehabilitators cannot charge a
fee for their services! It is the sole responsibility of the Wildlife
Rehabilitator to obtain all necessary specialized equipment, supplies,
proper feed products, appropriate caging, training, and veterinary
services at their own expense, or through fund raisers and the
acceptance of donations. Many also provide public education programs.
Wildlife rehabilitators must submit annual records to State and Federal
regulatory agencies for each animal cared for within the calendar year.
Licensed Assistant Wildlife Rehabilitators are licensed under the Class
2 Wildlife Rehabilitator that they work with. Wildlife Rehabilitators
must be aware that occupational hazards do exist and they must accept
all associated health and safety risks. They are people who are willing
to make a difference by helping the individual animals.
WHY REHABILITATE WILDLIFE?
One may ask whether or not the act of wildlife
rehabilitation is interfering with natural selection, or disrupting the
course of nature. Statistics gleaned from over two decades of
rehabilitation annual reports show that between 80 to 90 percent of all
wildlife admitted for help, had become debilitated as a direct or
indirect result of obstacles imposed on the natural world by humans.
Some of the most common wildlife inflictions are due to collisions with
vehicles and other man-made objects. Toxic reactions from insecticides,
herbicides, heavy metals, petroleum based products and other chemical
agents, are very common. Mutilation and disfigurement as a result of
entanglement with litter and other man-made objects are occurring more
frequently. Injuries sustained by attacks from free roaming domestic
pets, or malicious persons are all too common. Most of all, however, our
encroachment on habitat is the most serious, as it is the core problem
to all of the other occurrences. The continuous destruction of habitat
forces wildlife to become displaced, which results in conflict with man,
as animal's search for new territories. It also increases the spread of
disease because greater numbers of wild creatures are being forced into
smaller habitats that are filled beyond the carrying capacity. This
increases the chances of one sick animal rapidly spreading disease to a
greater number of healthy animals that are crowded within a smaller
territory. Nature herself, is very seldom the cause for the numbers of
wildlife being cared for by wildlife rehabilitators.
HOW
DO WILDLIFE REHABILITATORS RECEIVE THEIR WILD PATIENTS?
During the spring and summer "busy
season" it is not uncommon for a rehabilitator to receive numerous
calls from a wide variety of people. The majority of our calls, come
from the general public who find wild animals they believe to be in need
of help. Other calls come from municipalities and government, veterinary
hospitals, nature centers and zoos, police and dog control officers,
town parks and recreation services, golf courses, pet stores and
conservation clubs. Many calls require information only, and can be
resolved merely by giving advice. Unfortunately however, about one third
of the daily calls do result in the arrival of a new admission requiring
help.
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