“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by how its animals are treated.” Mahatma Gandhi
Last week we spent an afternoon meeting with some staff and volunteers from the BC SPCA Wild ARC (Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre) in Metchosin. It was incredible to hear about the exquisite care the team offers to injured and orphaned wild animals, and overwhelming to put together just how many hands and hearts it takes to run the animal hospital. WOW.
Wild ARC cared for 2,043 wild animals last year from all over the region, helping them recover and return to the wild. This incredible program provides much needed care to injured, sick, orphaned and distressed wildlife (more than 80 percent related to human impact) with the goal to release recovered animals back into the wild.
In the BBP Somatic Attachment Psychotherapy 2 year training we talk about love being medicine—and throughout the clinics we talk about what does that really mean? In essence, we come to know that love means holding a frame and framework to allow for the most possible healing for our patients. In a reflection of this principle, the humans that work and volunteer at the BC SPCA’s Wild ARC offer a similar holding environment, offering interaction and care that is most beneficial for the wild animal to heal and return to life.
The thing that struck me most was the dedication of the team—volunteer and staff—to care for the animals. There is no snuggling Bambi, befriending the owls, or petting the rabbits—the team members take exquisite care NOT to familiarize the animals with people so voices are low in the hallways and protocols are taken to ensure wildness is maintained so they can return successfully and not be habituated to humans. We were inspired by the people we met that work and volunteer at Wild ARC and got an inside scoop on their dedication, what it takes to nurse some of the animals back to health, or to save their lives – baby hummingbirds need to be fed every 15 minutes! Some volunteers come in and just do laundry, like for their whole shift! WOW, just wonderfully dedicated folks.
While from the outside it looks like a wildlife education centre nestled among tall trees, once inside the centre, it is a hospital and infirmary. Wild ARC is not open to the public for tours as it’s patients need a dedicated environment to heal and recover in. We were able to learn that spread out on the hospital campus are a variety of enclosures to house and rehabilitate the animals—from deer enclosures, to a raptor shed where large birds of prey can spread their wings and fly, or learn to fly, to the raccoon rooms – specific for babies, juveniles or adults. They also have water enclosures for animals that are water based like seabirds, water fowl, river otters, etc. The enclosures are enriched with materials from the animal’s natural habitat like cedar boughs, water pools, and things to climb. Each species of animal has specific dietary requirements and meals are carefully prepared, including Wild ARC growing their own mealworms!
This quality of diverse care is an incredible feat – to be able to treat over 2,000 injured or orphaned animals per year, most of them (70%) in the spring and summer months, to coordinate over 150 volunteers, to fundraise the money needed to run the hospital (nevermind the whole of the BC SPCA—they don’t receive government funding), is monumental.
Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts, to the BC SPCA, the dedicated staff and volunteers of the Wild ARC, and to everyone who opens their hearts and wallets to care and support wild animals. 
If you are interested, one of the enclosures that we sponsor has a web camera – the deer enclosure – (there are currently no deer in care so the enclosure is empty though check back often during the busy spring and summer season) – WATCH
and here’s a link to the behind the scenes at the Wild ARC
If you are interested in supporting the Wild ARC, or learning more, click here
If you or someone you know sees an animal in distress, please call the BC SPCA Animal Helpline Toll Free at 1-855-622-7722