OUR MISSION
WildRescue focuses on the pervasive issues faced by wildlife casualties and the caring people who find, them through innovative programs that promote optimum care of sick, injured, and orphaned native wildlife.
THE NEED
While there are wildlife rehabilitation facilities dedicated to providing specialized care necessary for their patients to be returned to the wild, very few provide 24-hour emergency assistance over the phone – even fewer have the resources to send rescuers into the field.
In the absence of someone who can correctly identify a species, evaluate an animal’s condition, administer first aid, and provide transport, countless lives are lost. With her extensive background in wildlife rescue and rehabilitation, Project Director Rebecca Dmytryk organized WildRescue in 2000 to concentrate on the problems associated with the rescue and transport of critically injured native wildlife. She is committed to improving the way debilitated wild animals are treated and setting standards of practice in wildlife emergency response to ensure wild animals receive proficient attention and a second chance.
There’s no reason injured or orphaned wild animals, or the persons who find them, should go unattended or be given inadequate attention. There is no excuse for the senseless killing of viable wildlife, including healthy newborns, which is policy in many municipal animal shelters. Injured wild animals deserve the care offered by wildlife rehabilitators – the opportunity to recover from their injuries, and be returned home.
DIRECTOR’S BACKGROUND
Project director, Rebecca Dmytryk, has been working in the field of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation for over twenty years. Daughter of famous film director Edward Dmytryk and actress Jean Porter, Rebecca moved to the hills above Malibu in 1974 where her fascination with wildlife and reverence for nature flourished. At age 13 she was relocating rattlesnakes from the family’s backyard to the safety of the surrounding mountains. Inspired by the work of Jane Goodall, and E. O. Wilson, Rebecca went on to study animal behavior, and finally, in 1981 she began her career in wildlife rehabilitation.
She gained experience working as an animal control officer for Los Angeles County in the mid 1980’s while continuing to operate her own mobile pet care service. In 1993, she became a member of International Bird Rescue Research Center’s Oiled Wildlife Response Team and has since joined the team on numerous oil spills, including the Galapagos Island tragedy in 2001. In 1996, Rebecca founded The California Wildlife Center, a hospital for sick and inured wild animals, based in Malibu, California. After administrating the wildlife hospital for four years and earning credibility as a leading authority in wildlife emergency response, Rebecca chose to focus her talents on the pervasive issues facing wildlife casualties. During a recent 2-year term with the California Department of Fish & Game Wildlife Rehabilitation Committee she helped establish protocol for the care of native wildlife.