By Jen Skerritt
The Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre announced it will be closing its wildlife rehabilitation centre and telephone hotline service at the end of December, following a four-month feud with the Ministry of Natural Resources.
“We can no longer promise a safe haven for animals,” says Donna DuBreuil, president of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre. “We can’t operate under these kinds of stupid regulations.”
The volunteer organization has been open for 15 years and cares for more than 1,000 animals annually.
DuBreuil blames the centre’s closure on regulations imposed by the ministry and a lack of support from the City of Ottawa’s emergency and protective services staff.
DuBreuil says all the animals have either been confiscated by the ministry or released into the wild.
While she says there are no orphaned animals at this time of year, DuBreuil also says many orphan animals will die in the spring without a rehabilitation facility.
“People finding a baby raccoon next April or May have two choices,” says DuBreuil. “You can either leave it on the road to die as an orphan, or you can take it to the vet clinic and pay to have it euthanized.”
Earlier this year, the ministry imposed a regulation requiring the centre to release orphaned wildlife within one kilometre of where they were found.
DuBreuil says this rule often meant separating animals that had already bonded together and returning them to a place where they had a smaller chance of survival.
While no incidences of rabies have been reported within 100 km of the city, the ministry also designated Ottawa as a high-risk zone for rabies.
DuBreuil says this rule prohibits the care of raccoons, foxes and skunks or any “rabies species”, which is unprecedented in North America.
Steve Payne, media relations officer for the ministry, says there are no incidents of rabies in Ottawa because the ministry focuses on preventing it in the first place.
“We ‘re not waiting for cases of rabies to turn up to do something about it,” he says. “And I’m sure the public is quite thankful that we do so.”
DuBreuil says the centre was also upset when the ministry seized 34 raccoons and one skunk from the centre and placed them in a research facility in September. of this year.
But according to Payne, it wasn’t the ministry’s regulations that caused the rehabilitation center to close.
“There’s nothing we’ve done that would force the closure of that centre under any circumstance,” says Payne. “We have no problems with any of the other centres anywhere in Ontario.”
Coun. Alex Cullen disagrees, saying the ministry is responsible for taking the steps that led to the demise of an important community resource.
“The centre was there to help restore wounded creatures back to their habitat and it’s frightfully shortsighted to see the ministry close down a very, very needed community resource,” says Cullen.
Coun. Alex Munter says the closure could have an impact on taxpayers.
“I am extremely disappointed by this news,” says Munter. “The (centre) has offered humane, compassionate care for animals that has always been a good deal for the taxpayer.
“There is no question this decision, if left unchanged, will lead to extra costs for the city.”
But DuBreuill warns that if the city decides to fill the void, it “ should be prepared to “to offer the same level of service residents have come to expect from a not-for-profit volunteer organization.”
Meanwhile, Cullen says the city will continue to fight for the centre.
“We’ve already expressed our concerns to [the ministry] and I guess we’ll have to take it to the next level.”