This morning there was a pigeon the back yard, as there sometimes are, so not much notice was taken of it. A bit later it was still there, arousing concern. On closer inspection, his/her neck was crooked and its wing looked injured. When it tried to fly away it didn’t get up more than a metre before coming back down and resting. Not knowing what to do, I googled “Toronto bird rescue” and the Toronto Wildlife Centre was one of the first sites that came up. I called their what to do if you find an animal in distress number, left a message, and was called back a short time later when I explained the situation. They were able to do a partial diagnosis and asked if I could bring the bird in, as they are a charity and don’t have the means to pick up animals.
This is one of those times having access to a car is valuable, so I was able to drive up to their location in the middle of Downsview Park. That part was easy — figuring out how to capture the pigeon seemed a bit daunting, but I was also told how to pick up the pigeon — “like a football” — after covering it up with a towel. Once in the box, pigeon and I made our way to Downsview where it was taken in. If they are able to rehabilitate the bird they will call me so I can take part in the release (optional), as they return them to the area they were found.
I had often wondered what you do if you find an animal like this, but haven’t had to check until today. There is no OHIP for critters, so this charity fills in that gap.
Toronto Wildlife Centre (TWC) was opened on March 28th, 1993 by a group of volunteers who were concerned by the fact that there was no other organisation in the city dedicated specifically to helping wildlife in need. A registered charity supported entirely by donations, TWC has grown into Canada’s busiest wildlife centre, and the only organisation of its kind in Toronto.
TWC has admitted over 47,000 wild animals since opening, and in recent years has experienced increases of up to 30% in both patient admissions and calls to our Wildlife Hotline.
In 2007 alone, over 5,600 wild animals were admitted for medical care.TWC has cared for over 260 unique species of wild animals.
Read more about TWC here. While there, I was able to see a flying squirrel being rehabilitated and was told that there were many cages of pigeons in another room. If you find an animal in distress, these are the people to call — and do call first, as sometimes not all animals need to be brought in to the hospital and often (in the case of abandoned young) it may be better to keep them close to where they are found. For those of you who like to direct charitable giving and/or free time to urban-minded organizations, TWC can always use donations and volunteers.
4 comments
The Toronto Humane Society also does wildlife rehab (without having to go all the way to Downsview) as per the following link; http://www.torontohumanesociety.com/programs/wildliferehab.asp. We dropped an injured pigeon off with them last fall although they didn’t offer the release ceremony option which is kind of interesting.
these folks have made presentation after deputation to get some greater support for their activities from the City, but it’s been quite uphill and limited response.
Glad to see you profile this worthy charity. A few weeks ago, I came across an injured racoon on St. Clarens near College Street. Same googling for help – they were there in 45 minutes, humanely trapped the animal and transported him to their site for vet help. Then they released him within the same area later (have to – they don’t survive outside their own neighbourhood). Had it been the City’s animal services: A. they might not have even bothered to help; B. They would have killed the animal; C. They would have fined me for not having a City ‘Racoon Licence’ (just kidding)
Hi
There is a man in the building where I live that has a few birds that he keeps in the garage. Yes, he does feed them, but what I am really concerned about is, the birds are in the 24/7 and the only time they get fresh air or natural light is when he goes to feed them and opens the garage door. While he is in there with them he is smoking cigarettes, and sometimes he has a buddy with him and they are both smoking.
I tried talking to him about proper care for the birds, eg: suggesting he go online to find out proper care for the birds that he has. He just tells me that I’m not a nice person and that I’m crazy.
I feel so bad for the birds because you can hear them chirping at times when you think they would be resting. I also mentioned to him that there is no windows in the garage for the birds to have some light on these nice sunny days. He said that he has a light on all the time for them. When I saw the light, it is a hanging lightbulb (I think) which is about 1 1/2 feet in front of the cages, so the light is on all the time. I tried to explain to him that the birds do need some sun and that they usually like to sleep in the dark, but to be sure, go online and check it out.
He, being the Superintendent of the building is now angry at me because he thinks I am just trying to cause him problems.
I love all animals and get very upset when I see someone not taking care of them properly. I hope that is not allowed, because if it is, there is something really wrong with the rights for the protection of animals in this country and even on this earth.
Please let me know if this is ok, and if it isn’t what can be done about it. If it is okay, then what can I do to try to get the laws changed and updated to this century for the protection of animals?
Thank you
and thank you for the great job you all do in taking care of all the animals.
Laura