When most people find sick, injured, or orphaned wildlife, their first instinct is often to try and help the animal by caring for the animal themselves. However, although we understand that many people find injured, sick or orphaned wild animals and wish to help them, the general public should not try to care for wildlife. Wildlife rehabilitation is tremendously demanding and requires expert knowledge and experience to be done effectively. Restrictions on who can keep wildlife are in place to protect the best interests of the animals and to protect the public's health. It is illegal for members of the general public to provide care or treatment to wildlife. You must be a licensed wildlife custodian to rehabilitate wild animals. The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources is responsible for licensing wildlife custodians.
The first step to helping any wildlife in need is to make sure that the animal actually requires assistance.
Signs an animal is injured or sick and in need of human assistance:
- An adult animal can be easily captured (healthy adult wildlife are not easy to catch!)
- The animal is obviously limping or is not bearing weight equally on all legs
- The animal is sitting near/on the road and makes no attempt to move away from traffic
- The animal displays obvious signs of trauma, such as bleeding and open wounds
- The animal has laboured or uneven breathing, or is clearly having difficulty breathing
- The animal is displaying clear signs of neurological trauma such as having seizures, continuous tilting of the head to one side, ongoing circling
- A bird sits with feathers puffed out and does not move for a long period of time
- A bird is dragging a wing or wings are clearly not being carried evenly
- An adult bird runs on the ground when all other birds in the area have flown away
Signs an animal is orphaned and in need of human assistance:
Identifying orphaned wildlife can be tricky. Most animals raise their young very differently than humans and situations that look like abandonment to people, may be part of the animal's natural development and parental care routine. The links below will help you determine if the animal you are concerned about is genuinely orphaned based upon species-specific information.
Birds and Waterfowl
Deer
Rabbits
Raccoons and Squirrels
How to help
Recognizing the diverse needs and challenges facing wildlife in Ontario, the Ontario SPCA's Animal Welfare Department manages the Ontario SPCA Wildlife Hotline, a resource on wildlife care and tips on living with wildlife humanely.
In case of emergency please contact your local wildlife rehabilitation centre.
For all general inquiries you can reach our wildlife hotline at 1-888-ONT-SPCA (668-7722) ext. 386 (toll free) or (705) 534-4350
