For Your Information…

I have been rehabilitating wildlife now for 62 years. Back when I started there was no such thing as a rehabilitation permit. I knew every time I got an animal it was against the law to have. Every time I got an animal I contacted Division of Wildlife and told them what I had and what my intensional was. If you do that today they are going to send you to a licensed rehabilitator.

I would call them the day I released the animal. As the number of animals grew I was told that Division was going to come up with some kind of a permit. No one in the state has rehabilitated as many years as I have. My first permit was a Scientific Collectors permit. After a few name changes and numerous laws put in place Division of Wildlife came up with a Catagory 1 and a Catagory 2 rehabilitation permit.

The beginner gets a Catagory 1 and is limited to the species they are allowed to raise. Catagory 2 can deal with rabie vector animals. Each and every state has their own set of laws. Rehabilitators are needed. The demand for help is more than we can deal with.

Licensed rehabbers have rules and regulations they HAVE to follow. We have paperwork and reports that have to be filed every year. Ask every rehabilitator and they will tell you it would be wonderful if we didn’t have to do the paperwork or file our annual reports, but we do it is part of doing the job legally. We have to renew our permits and can be turned down. We have cage standards to follow.

People often contact us and want advice on how to care for a wild animal. We are not to give that advice. If you could do it legally without permits there would not be permits. Ohio Wildlife Rehabilitator Association offers training classes. You can attend those classes every day of the year BUT until you have that permit in your hand you are breaking the law if you try to raise it. The laws are in place to protect both the wildlife and humans.

If you would like to donate to Operation Orphan Wildlife you can do so here. Thank you for your support!