The call for veterinary expertise and support is growing in the rehabilitation community. Lack of formal training, professional isolation, funding scarcity, and access to medical expertise have negatively impacted the rehabilitators working to provide the best care for wild animals.

The Raptor Center (TRC) has become a beacon for improving animal care across wildlife rehabilitation through the first six years of its first-of-a-kind, externally funded initiative aptly named Partners for Wildlife (P4W). Founded in 2018, P4W brings support to rehabilitation centers and veterinary practitioners across seven states helping birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.

Many may assume there’s a governmental response for injured, ill, or orphaned wildlife. However, across the
country, many operations have humble beginnings starting with citizen volunteers helping wildlife all on their own. Historically, wildlife rehabilitation has been driven by passionate and self-motivated folks on a grassroots level fighting to make a difference.

Partners for Wildlife is bringing together expert organizations and home-based wildlife rehabilitators, fostering a community for change. On the ground, the P4W team is directly supporting 12 current interns and fellows, 36 program alumni, and 80 organizations and practitioners. On the web, a newly developed national online platform is connecting rehabilitators of all expertise levels. These growing networks are furthering the education of hundreds of practitioners and improving the quality of care for tens of thousands of individual animals annually.

Supporting folks who rescue and rehabilitate wildlife beyond raptors through P4W is expanding TRC’s mission of excellence and protecting the environment we all share.