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Read moreHow to Become a Wildlife Rehabilitator
If you respect and admire wild animals, wildlife rehabilitation might just be the calling for you. There is much more to the job than just a love for wildlife. Successful rehabilitation and release of sick, injured and orphaned wild animals requires specific skills and knowledge, as well as legal permits and licenses.
What is Wildlife Rehabilitation?
Rehabilitation is a major part of PAWS’ work with wildlife. We have established our expertise at PAWS Wildlife Center by working with more than 140,000 wild animals of 260 different species over the past 30 years.
The work can be stressful and demanding. But seeing an animal recover and return to a wild and free life makes it all worthwhile.
Wildlife rehabilitation is a profession involving the treatment and care of sick, injured or orphaned wild animals with the goal of releasing healed animals back to their natural habitats in the wild. To be released, animals must be able to function in their natural habitats as normal members of their species.
Effective rehabilitation meets the unique physical and psychological needs of each species we treat. It combines aspects of veterinary medicine, animal husbandry, animal behavior, biology and other fields.
Keeping the wild in wildlife
Wildlife rehabilitation does not attempt to turn wild animals into pets. Human contact with patients at PAWS is kept to a minimum, and animals are held in captivity only until they are able to live independently in the wild. Animals with injuries or illnesses that prevent them from surviving in the wild are humanely euthanized.
Releasing our wild patients
For rehabilitation to be deemed successful released animals must be able to survive on their own and be an integral part of their species’ population, i.e., recognize and obtain appropriate foods, select mates of their own species to reproduce, and respond appropriately to potential dangers (flee or fight). These dangers include people, cars, dogs and natural predators.
Education
Wildlife rehabilitation provides an opportunity for public education about the dangers wild animals face in an increasingly human-dominated landscape. This critical part of our work helps wildlife on a much larger scale than wildlife rehabilitation could alone.
Because PAWS does not believe in keeping wild animals permanently in captivity, we do not use live wild animals in our education programs. Instead, we use storytelling and wildlife artifacts to teach children and others to respect wildlife.
Who can rehabilitate wildlife?
It is illegal in the state of Washington to rehabilitate wildlife without a permit. PAWS holds both state (Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife) and federal (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) permits.
Licenses and Permits
It is illegal to attempt to rehabilitate a wild animal without the appropriate legal permits.
Federal law protects most wild birds and state laws additionally protect most other wildlife. To work with mammals, reptiles and amphibians, wildlife rehabilitators and wildlife rehabilitation centers in Washington State must be issued special permits from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (for other states contact your state fish and game/wildlife departments).
Before receiving their permits, rehabilitators must meet various requirements, such as specialized training, participation in mentorship programs, facility inspections, and written or oral exams. Rehabilitators who wish to care for migratory birds must also get permits from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Training and Education
Wildlife rehabilitators work under a veterinarian’s guidance to assess injuries and identify a variety of illnesses, and must be able to administer basic first aid and physical therapy. Because wild animals are so different from domestic animals, rehabilitators need extensive knowledge about a variety of species in their care, including natural history, nutritional requirements, behavioral issues, and caging considerations. They also need to understand the injury and health risks related to working with wildlife, and how to safely handle and restrain wild animals under their care.
Many rehabilitators learn the skills involved in wildlife rehabilitation through hands-on experience. Volunteering for a rehabilitation center and participating in an intern program are two ways to help develop these skills. A course of study in ecology, wildlife biology, zoology or veterinary medicine is also recommended.
For More Information
Email PAWS Wildlife Center at wildlifeinfo@paws.org and we will be happy to explain the process and give our guidance and best recommendations on what steps you need to consider in order to become a licensed rehabilitator.
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