Wildlife Rehabilitation & Release

Serving the community of orphaned and injured wildlife, the community of citizens bringing animals to our attention, and the community of wildlife rehabilitators seeking education and support.

     The last few years have been new and different for all of us; we are part of a community that has shown we care for the world around us. Our mission statement above shows how we hold community at the center of all our work. Wildlife rehabilitators continue provide excellent care for injured and orphaned wild animals out of their own homes, often giving not only their time, but their own money. They make a huge sacrifice to care for these wild neighbors of ours. WRR is there to care for them through education; formula reimbursement; collecting and distributing needed supplies; assistance and compassionate care networking; and veterinary assistance programs.

The care of our wild neighbors is something WRR and the rehabilitation community is passionate about.  That is why growing, supporting, and developing the wildlife rehabilitation community is vitally important to your communities all across Minnesota. So when an animal in your neighborhood needs help, a skilled wildlife rehabilitator is there to care for them.

So far in 2022:

• Wildlife Rescue Team
  • Wildlife Rescue Team has received over 500 phone calls in 2022! We have developed a team of trained and equipped volunteers to respond to wildlife in need of advanced rescue coordination and personnel. So far the Team has safely rescued loons, waterfowl, foxes, raccoons, squirrels, rabbits, opossums, beaver, a bobcat and more! The Team also has guided numerous members of the public on how to safely capture or transport an animal themselves. We've also borrowed out live traps for the public to use while trapping an injured or sick animal. The Wildlife Rescue Team has invaluably changed the lives of the animals they have captured in communities all across Minnesota. See rescue pictures below or check out our Facebook for some really amazing stories of the work the Rescue Team performs!
• Rehabilitator Training
  • Spring Training continued as a virtual format in March and people from all over Minnesota and the country attended. This annual training has changing topics to meet the needs of the rehabilitators and volunteers. Every year we focus on animal care/welfare, new/emerging diseases, and more!
  • Basic Rehabilitation Education Workshop (BREW) was hosted in Lanesboro, MN on September 17-18. We had attendees from all over Minnesota as well as Wisconsin! This training is aimed at beginners and is crucial to recruiting and educating more community-based rehabilitators all across the region. Next year this training will be hosted in Duluth, MN. We are dedicated to bringing quality trainings all over Minnesota!
  • Online Learning Modules: We continue to grow and expand our online learning modules to reduce the barriers to accessing quality wildlife rehabilitation education in Minnesota and beyond. These modules are be directed and both beginner and experienced wildlife rehabilitators, volunteers, and community members and are free to WRR members.
• Rehabilitator Support Programs
  • Rehabilitator Support Program reduces the financial barrier for rehabilitators to access professional veterinary care and to purchase specialty supplies and caging! The average volunteer rehabilitators spends several thousands of dollars of their own personal money to provide care for wildlife. WRR is dedicated to offsetting some of these costs of these selfless volunteers.
  •  Formula Reimbursement Program helps supply the specialized formulas these amazing volunteers use to provide adequate nutrition to a diverse number of species.
  • Donated supplies are solicited, gathered, and distributed to rehabilitators all across Minnesota. WRR is able to assist with the often timely legwork of seeking specialty caging/equipment and handling pick-up, storage and distribution. Rehabilitators care for animals entirely out of their own finances so procuring supplies can greatly assist reducing costs associated with wildlife rehabilitation.

Please donate to support wildlife rehabilitation in your community!