National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association Documents Concerning NWRA and Wildlife Rehabiliation

1/24/2002   CHECKLIST for the Minimum Standards Minimum Standards for Wildlife Rehabilitation: Minimizing the Confusion Sometime during the last months of 2001, each member of IWRC and NWRA was sent a free copy of the 3rd edition of the NWRA/IWRC Minimum Standards for Wildlife Rehabilitation (MSWR). Along with this booklet, each mailing should have contained a checklist, and a cover letter. The copies of MSWR and the checklist were provided to both organizations by the Excellence in Wildlife Rehabilitation Working Group, an Ad Hoc Committee formed through funding by The Kenneth A. Scott Charitable Trust. Unfortunately, there seems to be some confusion regarding the material that was sent: why was it sent, what does it mean, and how should it be used? A series in the newsletters of both IWRC and NWRA will hopefully answer some of these and other questions that have arisen from members. Below is an explanation of the checklist and it’s use; the next article will address the history and use of the MSWR booklet. Members of the above-mentioned Working Group felt that while the MSWR booklet contains a lot of important information for wildlife rehabilitators, it would be helpful to have a separate list of specific items regarding the physical facility and materials used by rehabilitators (either in a home setting or at a center). Such a list would be used in conjunction with the MSWR booklet, by both rehabilitators and regulatory personnel, to evaluate the physical aspects of the facility where wildlife rehabilitation is being conducted. This checklist was drafted by one of the working group members, edited and altered by other members of the working group, and reviewed by an individual from one of the regulatory agencies. This individual also noted which items might be of particular interest to various agency personnel if they were inspecting a wildlife facility. As stated in the brief introduction to the Checklist that was distributed with MSWR, the checklist is to be used in conjunction with the MSWR booklet, not alone or in place of MSWR; nor is the checklist to be considered part of the MSWR. The introduction also states that the checklist is intended to help wildlife caregivers and state and federal agency personnel. The checklist is intended to be an aide, not a burden or an imposition. If the checklist doesn’t work for you, no one is saying that you need to use it. However, if the checklist can somehow make it easier for a rehabilitator to evaluate his or her own facility, or for a regulatory person to evaluate a facility, then it has served its intended purpose. The end goal, after all, is appropriate housing and quality care for wildlife in rehabilitation. When the checklist was composed, working group members intentionally chose the general terms “state and federal agency personnel” rather than specify which positions in which agencies might use this list. The Working Group saw no need in creating multiple lists specific to each agency; each agency creates their own lists when inspecting facilities, depending on what information they hope to gain from their visit. Some of the italicized information might be used by personnel from state wildlife agencies evaluating a facility prior to issuing or renewing a wildlife rehabilitation permit; some of the italicized information may be used by personnel from state or federal OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) investigating an employee’s complaint regarding the lack of safe working conditions; still other italicized items on the checklist might be used by personnel from a state Department of Public Health; etc. By italicizing these items, the rehabilitator becomes aware of what things in the facility might be regulated by one agency or another-- i.e., what items should be addressed for legal purposes, versus those items that should be addressed to provide good rehabilitative care for the animals, but are not specifically regulated by agencies. As stated in items 3 and 4 in A Wildlife Rehabilitator’s Code of Ethics, a wildlife rehabilitator should abide by local, state, provincial and federal laws, and by current health and safety practices. Hopefully the checklist will facilitate this process. Erica A. Miller, DVM Member, Kenneth A. Scott Excellence in Wildlife Rehabilitation Working Group Chair, NWRA Standards Committee Edward E. Clark, Jr. President, IWRC Elaine M. Thrune President, NWRA You can find the checklist here (PDF file format, 44KB in size)