Hope for Wildlife Centre

Everything I ever knew about animal rescue centres came from Diego. But there are people right here in our own province who are working hard at animal rescue centres to save animals.

The Hope for Wildlife Centre has been on my bucket list for a long time, so when we were planning a trip to the Eastern Shore, I knew this had to be on our must-see list.

The Hope Animal Wildlife Centre was in the local news recently when an injured Bald Eagle was found in Port Williams. It was taken to the centre, rehabilitated, and then reintroduced into the wild.

Since 1997, the Hope for Wildlife Society has helped over 20,000 injured and orphaned wild animals representing over 250 species. Animals admitted to the Hope for Wildlife Society receive medical care, food, shelter, and whatever else is needed to ensure a successful return to the wild.

The Hope Animal Wildlife Centre is open daily from 10-4. Visitors can pop by any time. There is no admission fee, but they do accept (and need) donations.

Your visit

To help me with this section, Daniel (9) wrote an explanation.

When we arrived at the Hope for Wildlife Centre, we were greeted by a guide. He took us on a tour of the facility.

The chinchilla was named Pichu and he was my favourite animal. He was super soft!

We walked around the property following paths.

We first visited a family of weasels who were about to be reintroduced into the wild. They were super zippy and fast. They are smaller than you think! Most people think that ferrets are weasels, but weasels are smaller.

On our tour, Thomas and I also got to climb the look-out tower. (Mom only made it half way!)

The tower is used to see if there are any animals in danger in that area. You can also see over all the wildlife centre.

Just be prepared when you come here there are some very badly injured animals. Prepare not to be grossed out, but to feel sorry for them and thankful that they are alive.

Some are missing wings or eyes. There are x-rays of animals with very bad injuries, too.

Some of the animals here weren’t injured or had anything wrong with them, but came here because they were abandoned pets (like the corn snake found in someone’s apartment closet).

Overall

My (Daniel) favourite part was when we went to visit the animals who were injured. I felt very sorry for them.

I liked how the guide explained how we could help them. We can help them by not throwing our garbage out the window.

If you find an injured animal, you shouldn’t bring him home thinking this is the right thing to do. Check him over, in case he is injured and then phone the Hope for Wildlife Centre. They will give you advice.

Location

The Hope for Animal Wildlife Centre is located at 5909 Hwy 207, Seaforth. It is about a 2 hour drive from the Valley.

Even if you can’t visit, you can still make a valuable donation. The centre relies primarily on donations to do the work it does.

To learn more, you can also go on YouTube and search for Hope for Wildlife as they have a terrific documentary series about the work that they do. Each episode is 50mins and wonderful to watch!