DID YOU KNOW wildlife rescues and rehabilitators are not regulated in South Carolina? This means anyone, regardless of experience or training, can become a wildlife rescuer.
Scary, right?
When you find an orphaned, injured, or displaced wild animal you want to make sure it is handed over to a person or an organization with experience.
REAL experience.
Gone are the days of new rehabbers being trained, completing apprenticeships, or participating in continuing education. Instead, what was once a respected profession has become a learn-as-you-go hobby. This is incredibly dangerous to the rehabbers, the animals, and the people who find the animals.
New rescues or people who have good intentions, but only a little experience raising a wild animal or two, pop up every day as new rescues. They claim to have the background needed to be a rescue, but the sad truth is most do not. They bring all the bells and whistles, like nonprofit status (which can be achieved online in just minutes).
None of this legitimizes a rescue. And because our state has no regulations in place folks who find animals that need help have no way of knowing what is best for an animal.
Wildlife rescues (and privately owned domesticated animal rescues) are self-funded. Rescues who receive nonprofit status can fundraise or request donations.
Many people start up wildlife rescues not realizing a rescue, even with nonprofit status, is a small business. No privately owned rescue should expect the state or any other government agency to fund their nonregulated, private, small business that they willingly chose to open.
P.S. Nonprofit status does not mean rescues get anything for free. We still pay for vet care, formula, feed, supplies, etc. Nonprofit status is for the benefit of the DONOR to use their contribution for a tax deduction.
Wildlife rescue is not a competitive sport. Yet in the last decade many of the newer rescues are in the superlative mindset of who can rescue the most animals and even take to trolling social media to find posts to comment on, encouraging the public to bypass their most local resources and “pick them” hoping the more animals they take in the more donations they will receive.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has tried for several years to implement policy and regulation to help with some of these issues. Many rescues fight the changes each year because they do not want to be held accountable. Yet these same rescues believe state agencies ‘owe them’ for volunteering to rehabilitate wildlife.
The South Carolina House of Representatives recently introduced a Bill (H4100) aimed at establishing some ground rules for wildlife rescues. We support this bill.
The purpose of this bill is not to punish folks who rescue and rehabilitate native wildlife. It is to ensure the people and the wildlife of this state that animals brought into care are received by knowledgeable, experienced rehabilitators. It will establish common sense standards for rescues to follow. The new law addresses public safety criteria as well as steps taken to make sure wildlife surrendered to a rescue is released back into its natural habitat when rehabilitation is complete and not hoarded in cages and deemed nonreleasable because the persons or rescues caring for them failed by imprinting or human habituating them.
It is true, there are not enough wildlife rescues in South Carolina, but that doesn’t mean we should let just anyone claim to be a rescue.
It is also true that no law is going to please everyone. It is impossible to cover every concern when establishing new regulations. But we absolutely have to start somewhere.
H4100 is a no nonsense, to the point Bill. But don’t take our word for it. You can read it here in black and white.
If you agree with and support this Bill please take a moment and contact your Representatives and Senators and let them know you want them to help keep wildlife Wild in SC.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
PRESENTATION BY SCDNR to the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environmental Affairs Committee
(forward to 1hour : 39minutes)
PRESENTATION BY SCDNR and Many SC Wildlife Rescues to the Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Environmental Affairs Committee
(begins at 6minutes : 25seconds, our rescue speaks at 34minutes : 42seconds)
