The organization has seen a 40 per cent decline in donations in the first quarter of 2023, coupled with a 30 per cent increase in expenses
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A Calgary wildlife treatment and rehabilitation centre is being forced to cut back its services due to soaring expenses and declining donations.
Serving Calgary since 1993, Calgary Wildlife treats injured and orphaned wild animals to ultimately be released back into the wild. They also offer wildlife educational programming for the community.
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But the organization has seen a 40 per cent decline in donations in the first quarter of 2023, coupled with a 30 per cent increase in expenses, according to Beki Hunt, Calgary Wildlife executive director.
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She called it a “perfect storm” of factors. “Inflation, like anyone else we’re being affected by inflation,” said Hunt.
Prices for food to feed various species have increased, along with regulatory pressures that require the organization to have certain numbers and types of staff on for all shifts.
“Food that we have to offer our patients, we can’t just offer them random junk — they have to be given species-specific, healthy, proper food.”
The centre treats a variety of local wildlife, mostly infants that are injured or orphaned such as baby squirrels, hares, birds, fawns, owls, foxes and sometimes bobcats. Hunt said they aren’t permitted to treat larger adult animals such as cougars, coyotes, bears, deer or moose.
Demands for care have been up and down over the past few years, with around 2,800 patients in 2021, followed by 1,800 in 2022 and 2,200 in 2023, according to Hunt. But she said the general trend has been upward over the years. She attributed the dip in patients in 2022 to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) or Bird Flu.
If donations continue at the current trend, Hunt said they will need to reduce services by 20 per cent to continue offering proper care for patients and be responsible for staff. That reduction would mean they’d be able to serve about 400 patients fewer than last year.
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Thousands of calls made to group’s hotline
May is generally the start of their “busy season,” and Hunt said that means more patients coming in and higher stress levels for staff.
They may also be forced to cut back the hours they’re open to the public if donation woes persist.
“There’s only so much we can do with the resources that we have,” Hunt said.
She said it’s still a very “fluid” situation, and they will be reassessing every month.
Around 8,200 calls were made to the group’s injured or orphaned hotline last year, an average of just more than 22 calls per day.
“Our hotline is really instrumental to help distressed Calgarians or Albertans, who may have found an injured wild animal and don’t know what to do.”
People are encouraged to call the hotline before bringing animals in, because in some cases animals may be exhibiting natural behaviours that good-willed Albertans perceive as injuries, according to Hunt.
“What we do struggle with every year is having patients be brought in that don’t need to be brought in,” she said.
Calgary Wildlife hoping for donations
The centre relies largely on donations from individuals, along with some government funding and help from organizations such as the Calgary Foundation, said Hunt.
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In bidding for community support, Hunt hopes donations will ramp up and the situation will take a turn for the better.
“If 500 wildlife lovers could commit to a regular monthly donation of $25, the price of four coffees, it would definitely put us in a better place,” said Hunt.
Donations of supplies and one-time donations are also welcomed. Hunt also said interacting with Calgary Wildlife on social media and through their newsletter are helpful ways to get the word out.
Calgary Wildlife is the only animal hospital in the city, and one of only six wildlife rehabilitation centres in Alberta.
— With files from Postmedia
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