Species, causes, and outcomes of wildlife rehabilitation in New York State

Abstract

24 Wildlife rehabilitation is a publicly popular though highly controversial practice. State wildlife 25 agencies frequently debate the ecological impact of rehabilitation. Analysis of case records could 26 inform that debate by clarifying and quantifying the causes for rehabilitation, species involved, 27 and treatment outcomes. This information could aid in the ability of regulatory agencies and 28 rehabilitators to make informed decisions and gain insight into causes of species decline. In New 29 York, rehabilitators are licensed by the Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) 30 and thus, are required to submit annual reports. Between 2012Between -2014 individual wildlife 31 cases were seen by licensed rehabilitators comprising 31,229 (52.6%) birds, 25,490 (42.9%) 32 mammals, 2,423 (4.1%) reptiles, and 73 (0.1%) amphibians. We identified patterns among 33 taxonomic representation, reasons for presentation, and disposition. Major causes of presentation 34 were trauma (n = 22,672, 38.2%) and orphaning (n = 21,876, 36.8%), with habitat loss (n 35 =3,746, 6.3%), infectious disease (n = 1,992, 3.4%), and poisoning or toxin exposure (n = 864, 36 1.5%) playing lesser roles. The overall release rate for animals receiving care was 50.2%; 45.4% 37 were either euthanized or died during the rehabilitation process. A relatively small number 38 (0.3%) were permanently non-releasable and placed in captivity, and 4.1% had unknown 39 outcomes. In comparison to data from 1989, wildlife submissions have increased (annual mean 40 12,583 vs 19,790), as has the release rate, from 44.4% to 50.2%. Utilizing a large data set 41 allowed us to fill knowledge gaps, which can help inform management by both the rehabilitators 42 and the state agencies that regulate them, deepening understanding of the scope and impacts of 43 wildlife rehabilitation. 44 45 HANSON ET AL. WILDLIFE REHABILITATION IN NEW YORK STATE 3 46 Introduction 47 Ethical questions and skepticism over the ecological benefits have fueled debate on 48 rehabilitative treatment of wild animals [1,2]. The value of rehabilitation for individual animals 49 is also controversial, with little knowledge of release rates, and some arguing that stressors 50 placed on animals undergoing care at the rehabilitation facilities may be as traumatizing to the 51 animal as the inciting event [3-5]. In contrast, advocates urge that the need for rehabilitation 52 often arises from anthropogenic causes, and humans therefore have a moral obligation to rectify 53 their impact [6]. In addition, rehabilitation provides people with close contact with wildlife, 54 potentially increasing knowledge of wild species and factors contributing to their declines, which 55 can have positive impacts on local biodiversity conservation [6]. 56 Without basic quantifiable information, this debate has been left at a standstill. Here, we 57 report large-scale epidemiologic data to provide a foundation for understanding the scope and 58 potential impacts of wildlife rehabilitation. 59 Wildlife rehabil...

Causes, temporal trends, and the effects of urbanization on admissions of wild raptors to rehabilitation centers in England and Wales

“…Admissions due to anthropogenic causes had a higher mortality rate (57%) than natural causes (40%), and our more refined analysis suggested that infection/parasite admissions were associated with the highest mortality rates (90%), whereas orphaned birds were associated with the lowest mortality rate (16%). Raptors admitted due to being orphaned tend to have higher survival probabilities than those admitted for other reasons, as evidenced by existing studies (Hanson et al, 2021;Lukesova et al, 2021 [see "Nestlings" and "Incubation" in Table 3]).…”

“…For example, Molina‐López et al (2011) found that trauma accounted for 50% of raptor admissions to a WRC in Spain, with the cause of injury unascertainable for more than half of these. Trauma admissions were also most numerous (56%) in a study of 3212 raptor admissions to a WRC in New York State, USA (Hanson et al, 2021). In South Africa, an analysis of eight years of admissions data for 39 raptor species revealed that vehicle and building collisions were the most common cause of admission (Thompson et al, 2013), and another South African study found that 52% of all admissions for 33 raptor species were also due to collision‐related injuries (Maphalala et al, 2021).…”

“…For example, Molina- found that trauma accounted for 50% of raptor admissions to a WRC in Spain, with the cause of injury unascertainable for more than half of these. Trauma admissions were also most numerous (56%) in a study of 3212 raptor admissions to a WRC in New York State, USA (Hanson et al, 2021). In South…”

The contribution to wildlife conservation of an Italian Recovery Centre

“…The significant differences recorded amongst different species' release rates can be attributed to the intrinsic characteristics of the species (animals more resistant or more adaptable to captivity than others) and to the types of debilitation suffered by the different species (e.g. infections, wounds, traumas, fractures) (Molina-López et al 2017;Hanson et al 2019).…”

Juvenile European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) at rescue centers and their release rate depending on their weight on admission

“…The number of European hedgehogs admitted to rescue centers has been increasing over the last ten years [ 11 ] and a similar trend can also be seen in many other animal species [ 24 – 27 ]. Various studies have also found an extremely high rate of admission of young animals to rescue centers [ 28 , 29 ]. This fact may be explained in several ways.…”