Red Creek Wildlife Center

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Click Here But I Love this Animal
or
But I Want to Raise It
or
It would be a great experience for the children
(and other excuses)Please, Please, Please
do not even think about keeping this wild creature!

Wildlife Diseases and ParasitesWild animals often carry parasites and diseases that can infect you, your children and your pets. Handling wild babies enough to provide the care that they need can be extremely dangerous. Rabies and raccoon roundworm are just two examples of life-threatening conditions carried by wildlife.

Rabies is a fatal disease cause by a virus that attacks the central nervous system of warm blooded animals. Rabies is most commonly contracted through a bite wound from an infected animal in the last stage of the disease, but can also be transmitted when the saliva or brain tissue of an infected animal comes in contact with an open cut or mucous membranes such as the mouth and eyes. Handling any animal continuously can expose you to this deadly virus.

The time from infection to onset of clinical signs is usually two to twelve weeks, but some animals and people have been known to carry the virus for up to a year. The virus is only transmissible during the last stage of the disease and clinical signs usually follow within a week to ten days. The last stage is always fatal.

Baylisascaris (Bay-liss-ass-kuh-ris) (Raccoon Roundworm) can cause skin irritations and eye and brain damage in humans and domestic pets (such as dogs and cats) resulting in blindness and even death.

Wildlife Rehabilitators treat the animals for parasites such as Baylisascaris, aiding in the animals overall health. They are also trained to recognize and treat diseases that can harm humans and are vaccinated against the rabies virus.

The LawsAll wildlife animals are protected under state or federal laws or both. In most states, it is illegal to possess a wild animal – even if you are trying to help it.

Because Wildlife Rehabilitators get large numbers of animals, we can keep them together, helping them to grow up wild.

DeathThe constant stress of captivity will weaken the animal’s immune system, resulting in disease and often death. If you want to teach your children about wildlife by caring for those baby bunnies or that nest of birds, most likely the only lesson they will learn is about suffering and death.

Wild animals need special experienced care. They require specific needs for nutrition, medical attention and housing. Read more on this

When you are tempted to take
home a wild animal for a pet, ask yourself these questions:

• Is what I am doing legal?
• Am I willing to risk the
  health, and possibly the life, of myself and my family and my pets?
• Am I properly trained in the
  care of this species of animal?
• Can I obtain veterinary care
  for this animal? (Veterinarians will not treat illegal wildlife)
• Am I willing to risk killing
  the animal because I may not truly know how to care for it?
• Am I willing to change my
  lifestyle to conform to the animal’s natural and unalterable behavior?

If you cannot answer
“yes” to each question,
do not attempt to keep a wild
animal as a pet.
Call a Licensed Wildlife
Rehabilitator NOW!

This entry was posted on Monday, February 5th, 2007 at 12:24 am and is filed under Wildlife Information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.