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The Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre (OCWC) was founded over 30 years ago by husband and wife Gary and Donna DuBreuil. After finding an orphaned baby squirrel and realizing there was little information or help available to care for it, the DuBreuils, along with a small group of dedicated volunteers, started to care for sick, injured, and orphaned wild mammals from the Ottawa area and beyond.
After several temporary locations, the current facility was built in 1992 as Canada's first purpose-built urban wildlife centre. This was possible thanks to the financial support of all three levels of government, Nortel Networks as the private sector partner, and many community business and professional organizations, along with a large number of volunteers.
The Centre provided wildlife rehabilitation services for orphaned and injured wild mammals, caring for more than 20 different species and upwards of 1,200 mammals each year, ranging from river otters to flying squirrels. It recruited, trained, and supervised hundreds of community volunteers and student interns as well as establishing a veterinary student-training program in wildlife medicine, funded by the Max Bell Foundation as a Canadian pilot project. This program has produced more than a dozen veterinarians who have since graduated and are using their wildlife experience to give back to their communities across the country.
The Centre has always been committed to preventing problems, not just treating the symptoms. It developed a Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution Service that annually responded to more than 8,000 labour-intensive calls in assisting homeowners to resolve wildlife problems in an effective, cost-efficient, and humane manner. It received a major grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2001 in recognition of the project's ability to serve as a needed model for other such programs across the province and the country.
In 2002, as a result of regulation changes, the OCWC was no longer able to provide responsible and humane rehabilitation. In 2005, after a temporary hiatus, the OCWC Board of Directors and its members voted in support of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre remaining open and redirecting its primary focus to public education. The current program is built on first-hand experience in caring for over 16,000 orphaned and injured wild mammals and resolving more than 100,000 challenging human/wildlife conflict calls. The new program focuses on helping people live in harmony with nature. Please take a moment to learn more about our programs.
After several temporary locations, the current facility was built in 1992 as Canada's first purpose-built urban wildlife centre. This was possible thanks to the financial support of all three levels of government, Nortel Networks as the private sector partner, and many community business and professional organizations, along with a large number of volunteers.
The Centre provided wildlife rehabilitation services for orphaned and injured wild mammals, caring for more than 20 different species and upwards of 1,200 mammals each year, ranging from river otters to flying squirrels. It recruited, trained, and supervised hundreds of community volunteers and student interns as well as establishing a veterinary student-training program in wildlife medicine, funded by the Max Bell Foundation as a Canadian pilot project. This program has produced more than a dozen veterinarians who have since graduated and are using their wildlife experience to give back to their communities across the country.
The Centre has always been committed to preventing problems, not just treating the symptoms. It developed a Human-Wildlife Conflict Resolution Service that annually responded to more than 8,000 labour-intensive calls in assisting homeowners to resolve wildlife problems in an effective, cost-efficient, and humane manner. It received a major grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation in 2001 in recognition of the project's ability to serve as a needed model for other such programs across the province and the country.
In 2002, as a result of regulation changes, the OCWC was no longer able to provide responsible and humane rehabilitation. In 2005, after a temporary hiatus, the OCWC Board of Directors and its members voted in support of the Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre remaining open and redirecting its primary focus to public education. The current program is built on first-hand experience in caring for over 16,000 orphaned and injured wild mammals and resolving more than 100,000 challenging human/wildlife conflict calls. The new program focuses on helping people live in harmony with nature. Please take a moment to learn more about our programs.
The Ottawa-Carleton Wildlife Centre is a registered Canadian charity (#13224-0284-RR0001). Click here to make a tax-deductible donation.