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Kaitlyn Porter
Mrs. DeBock
English 4
13 April 2016
Effects of Animal Sanctuaries
Animal sanctuaries across the country have come up with new ways for treating injured
raptors. These facilities give injured birds, who would not have made it in the wild, a strong
chance to live and recover ,but some believe there are negative effects of rehabilitating and
helping the wounded birds. Animal sanctuarys positive effect outweighs the negative effect on
injured birds and can give them a safe environment with medical attention for a faster, better
recovery.
When wild raptors are admitted to rehabilitation centers, rescuers and rehabilitators go
through a long process to asses the bird for external and internal injuries. Many tests and samples
are taken to find what the cause of injury is and what is wrong with the bird. These test can cause
stress. In a case study, one bird with multiple injuries and an infection with worms had to receive
a series of treatments. The stress from all the treatments caused the bird to not eat. This bird had
to be force fed, which causes even more stress. This bird did not fully recover and could never be
released (Ash). This shows one example of how rehabilitation can have a negative effect on the
bird. Jim Warren explains in his article Raptor Care that the amount of human contact with
birds affects their wild behavior. Too much human contact can cause them to not be afraid and
venture into more populated towns where they can get hurt (Warren).
The rehabilitators at animal sanctuaries go through many steps to insure the birds safety
and to follow through with an effective recovery plan (Ash). Even though there is human contact

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the World Bird Sanctuary believes that rehabilitating is a much more positive effect then it is
negative. The world Bird Sanctuary did a study on birds who were given therapies vs. birds
who did not. In the case it showed that the birds who did not receive therapy either stayed much
longer or never fully recovered and the birds who were given therapy had a much quicker release
time. This study shows how the animal sanctuary's help for recover has an enormous positive
effect of the injured birds (World Bird Sanctuary). The process in which the birds are given
smaller cages in the beginning and transfer to a much bigger cage for short flights is effective
and allows the bird to grow stronger and be released faster states World Bird Sanctuary.
In the article The Modern Apprentice- Raptor Disease it talks about how the tests given
to the bird may cause stress, but later it states that the number of birds that have been released
successfully is growing and more effective and less stressful treatments are being formed. The
future for the rehabilitation process is on a positive track. The new physical therapies performed
on birds have a higher success rate than ever before (Ash). The article also stated later on that
many birds when taken to the centers are already too far gone before they can even receive
rehabilitation (Ash). Animal sanctuaries do all they can for the birds and try to cause the least
stress possible. They also try and give the bird a recovery plan for the fastest release.
Animal sanctuarys positive effect outweighs the negative effect on injured birds and can
give them a safe environment with medical attention for a faster, better recovery. They have
made it possible for more birds to be set free and live out the rest of their lives. If the animal
sanctuaries did not rehabilitate these animals the chance of death is almost certain. Too many of
these birds could not recover on their own and the animal sanctuaries helps to give them a much
greater opportunity of living.

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Works Cited
Ash, Lydia. "The Modern Apprentice - Raptor Diseases." The Modern Apprentice - Raptor
Diseases. N.p., 2004. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
Warren, Jim. "Carolina Raptor Center - Huntersville, NC." Carolina Raptor Center Huntersville, NC. N.p., 2003. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.
"World Bird Sanctuary | Home." World Bird Sanctuary | Home. N.p., 2014. Web. 17 Mar. 2016.

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