Wildlife Rehabilitation 

Background

Salmonier Nature Park was established as a high quality environmental education centre to promote an understanding and appreciation for this Province's wildlife and its habitat.

As the public conscience for wildlife has blossomed in recent years, so has people's expectation for wildlife rehabilitation services. Much of that expectation is focused on Salmonier Nature Park as more and more people become aware of the park facilities and the skills of its staff. The Park is the only facility in the Province that is both federally and provincially permitted to provide rehabilitation services for birds, reptiles, amphibians and land mammals.

Wildlife rehabilitation has both direct and indirect benefits. Direct conservation benefits to wildlife occur when species are rehabilitated and released. Indirect benefits to wildlife arise in the form of public support for conservation.  Other indirect benefits arise from the knowledge that is inevitably derived from the hands-on experience of trying to care for animals. For example, many successful raptor breeding programs throughout the world began from rehabilitating common species.

While operating within certain resource limitations, the Park attempts to accept and rehabilitate most wild animals that are placed in its care.  However, in some situations, some screening of animals occasionally occur.  

Moose Calves - A Special Case 

One of the most significant problems associated with animal rehabilitation is evident every spring when the park is asked to accept  "orphaned" moose calves. There are usually four to eight requests each year. Three serious problems associated with accepting moose calves arise:

1. In almost every case it is not in the best interest of moose to remove calves from their natural setting. It is important to understand talking calves from the wild is an unnecessary human disturbance. In many situations when the Park accepts a calf, it is fostering the perception that removing animals from the wild in this way is an acceptable practice. 

2. Hand raising moose calves is an expensive and time consuming activity which strain the Park's resources. 

If a calf is successfully reared, a major problem still exists. The park rarely needs more moose. Other zoological parks in Canada, which are suitably equipped and staffed to handle moose usually have them already.

Release back to the wild is usually inappropriate because the animal's ability to survive is questionable and hand-rearing makes the animal quite tame. It is quite likely that it would end up as a public nuisance or even cause a highway accident. 

Policy

Candidate animals for rehabilitation will be screened on the following basis:

1. Preference will be given in the following order:

a)     Endangered species
b)     rare, threatened or uncommon species
c)     Species with a high public profile (such as most raptors and carnivores)
d)     Other species.

2. Animals will be rehabilitated:

a) if they can be released back to the wild, 

b) if they can be placed on educational display at Salmonier Nature Park or other reputable zoological park in Canada, or

c) used in reputable captive breeding or research programs. 

3.  Generally species which are abundant or "over abundant" in the wild, will not be given a high priority for rehabilitation. 

4. If facilities or expertise at Salmonier Nature Park are inappropriate to handle certain species, Park staff endeavor to place these animals in those facilities that are best equipped and staffed to handle them. 

5. Attempts to raise moose calves will be made a) if they are needed for display at Salmonier Nature Park or b) if there is evidence in advance that another reputable zoological park is interested in taking a specimen(s) for their immediate display need.

6. The holding of captive wildlife in this Province requires a permit from the Inland Fish and Wildlife Division. Professionals involved in animal care who wish to engage in wildlife rehabilitation also need this (and possibly additional) permit(s) to which conditions may be attached. Staff at Salmonier Nature Park will cooperate with these professionals and assist the rehabilitation activity to the extent possible.