No worries spirit old mate...
"Paraprofessional Wildlife Rehabilitation" is basically nursing sick,
injured and orphaned wildlife back to health, so that they can then be
(strictly speaking) released back into wild populations. It does not
usually include work done by veterinary surgeons, zoological gardens or
public wildlife managers; nor is it the keeping of wildlife as companions
("pets")...although these may cross-over significantly.
The attitudes and approaches of and toward wildlife rehabilitators (known
in Australia mostly as "carers") - by professionals - varies considerably.
The legislation/regulations governing the activities of paraprofessional
widlife rehabilitators also varies considerably.
I don't wish to over simplify the topic, but broadly speaking...
Since Wildlife Rehabilitators deal with sentient creatures on a one-to-one
basis, and wildlife managers and ecologists deal with populations in
ecological contexts, the two sometimes don't communicate well and an uneasy
tension may exist at times.
This generalisation doesn't apply everywhere, of course, but it's one
aspect I wish to address.
My interest in this area stems from my up-bringing in the south-west of
Western Australia by parents who have been full-time widlife carers since
the early 80's. I have also studied and worked in the field of wildlife
ecology.
An overview of the conservation values of papaprofessional wildlife
rehabilitation raises some interesting questions; ecological and ethical.
Any help anyone could provide is greatly appreciated.
Cheers
Corey
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Corey Watts
PGDipSc Student
Centre for Conservation Biology
University of Queensland
St Lucia, Qld, AUSTRALIA 4068
email: [log in to unmask]
Ph: +61 7 3365 2475
Fax: +61 7 3365 1655
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