Palmerston North’s Victoria Esplanade will soon be home to a native wildlife rehabilitation centre where you’ll be able to watch the journey of NZ’s most endangered species as they recover from illness and injury after treatment at Wildbase Hospital.
Specially designed recovery aviaries, a support facility for vet care, and an education centre will enable animals to be viewed by the public, and promote conservation of some of our most endangered species through world-class rehabilitation practice by Massey University’s veterinary wildlife specialists.
Threats such as habitat loss, invasive species, disease and global warming mean many of our unique species are endangered. Even our common native birds are rare by world standards.
Wildbase Hospital is New Zealand’s only dedicated wildlife hospital for the medical and surgical treatment of native wildlife. 50% of animals treated at the hospital are threatened or endangered species.
Despite its importance to a number of recovery programmes, Wildbase Hospital does not have the full rehabilitation facilities needed for animals’ release back into the wild. As a result, wildlife are held in hospital for longer than ideal.
Wildbase Recovery will provide purpose-built aviaries, designed to help individual native fauna recover from illness and injury, through world-leading care by Massey University veterinary staff.
Public will be able to view patient journeys back to wellness, connecting generations of New Zealanders directly with the conservation of some of our most endangered species.
Wildbase Recovery Centre Philosophy
We believe Wildbase Recovery will directly contribute to the conservation of some of New Zealand’s most endangered species. The world-leading recovery facility will provide gold standard rehabilitation of injured and ill native wildlife – ensuring their best chance of survival once released back to the wild. In turn, this will mean many of these animals will go on to breed and contribute to the success of their population and species.
Wildbase Recovery will be built under the following principles:
Provide specifically designed facilities for the recuperation of ill and injured wildlife, with the animal’s health and wellbeing at the forefront of operational decisions.
Develop a national level educational experience that provides learning experiences around the wildlife in Wildbase Recovery’s care, as well as the wider messages associated with their species and what we as New Zealanders can do to contribute to their conservation.
Provide for the development of veterinary staff working with New Zealand wildlife, and set best practice benchmarks for recovery centres worldwide.
HELP US TO HELP NEW ZEALAND WILDLIFE
Wildbase Recovery Community Trust is a Charitable Trust tasked with raising funds which will be granted to Palmerston North City Council for the sole purpose of building, operating and maintaining this community funded wildlife recovery centre.
In a unique collaboration, Wildbase Recovery will be built and owned by Palmerston North City Council and co-managed by Massey University’s Veterinary School.
With your support, we can give our native species the best chance of survival.
To Donate and find out more about to this exciting project click this link http://wildbaserecovery.co.nz/