Teamwork between rehabilitators, the public and/or animal control groups
When you first contact us, we'll start with the basics:
"Is the wildlife sick or injured?"
"Have you tried to reunite with the mom?"
Sick and injured animals obviously need help; but unattended young and healthy animals may not. Some species, like bunnies, leave their babies alone for hours and require no assistance, while others may need a little nudging. Our first objective in these cases is to always try and reunite them with their parents.
Don't worry though, we will walk you through it!
When reuniting doesn’t work or we can’t wait any longer (e.g., it’s freezing outside!!), we will explain how to safely capture, package, and transport the animal(s) to a licensed rehabilitator.
In addition to public calls, ReWild NoVa also works with animal control groups from the counties (and cities therein) of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudon, Prince William and Fauquier. Animal Control Officers will call us directly for placement of orphaned, sick or injured animals.
Our home-based rehabilitation services for injured and sick wildlife focuses on “recovering” situations
Every licensed Virginia rehabilitator has a consulting veterinarian who can advise when necessary. However, few provide their medical services for free! In addition, Virginia laws prohibit rehabilitators from performing euthanasia, administering intravenous fluids and other services.
As a result, rehabilitators in our community must be judicious about which injured/sick wildlife we can handle but our code of ethics ensures that we always consider what’s best for the wildlife in our care.
Based on your situation, we will either ask you go to your local animal control, a veterinarian, or a wildlife center where medical procedures can be performed. If the regimen of care is something that can be accommodated in home-based services, we will gladly accept your rescue.
For any animal in need, please be mindful that rehabilitators work for free and do not have unlimited resources to assist. Be aware that you are asking the rehabilitator to spend weeks, and often months, to raise and feed your rescued orphan.
Rehabilitators in Virginia cannot charge for services and most of us spend personal funds to augment donations from the public.
We release our wildlife in native habitats, but not usually where they were found
The release of our “patients” is a joyous occasion for us!
Release sites are selected to match their habitat needs (e.g., trees, water, food). If our patient was here for only a short time, winter is approaching, or the species mates for life, we are likely to return them to their home.
Orphans, our most common patient, don’t need to be returned though. We are most likely to release them, with permission, on private property which mirrors their native habitat.