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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Behavior and Welfare
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1455632
This article is part of the Research Topic Reviews and Recent Advancements in Animal Welfare, Volume II View all articles

Reasons for admission and rehabilitation rates of various wildlife species in Finland

Provisionally accepted
Kati White Kati White 1,2*Laura T. Hänninen Laura T. Hänninen 1Sanna Sainmaa Sanna Sainmaa 3Anna Valros Anna Valros 1
  • 1 University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
  • 2 SEY Animal Welfare Finland, Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland
  • 3 Helsinki Zoo, Helsinki, Uusimaa, Finland

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Wildlife rehabilitation is a common part of animal-protection work. In Finland wildlife care is usually based on volunteer work and no licensing or training is required. Wildlife casualties are also treated professionally in some contexts such as zoos. The species of wildlife casualties may influence treatment decisions. Our anonymous online survey examined wildlife caregiving practices in Finland (n=78), focusing on the care provided to various animal species and the outcomes of rehabilitation efforts. The survey was sent to both veterinarians and volunteers caring for wildlife, and it was part of a larger survey. Questions were mainly closed, and opinion-related questions were applied on a Likert scale (1–7; where 1 meant strongly disagree and 7 meant strongly agree). Most respondents primarily cared for mammals and birds. Reptiles, amphibians, and fish received less attention. Injuries and overwinter survival, especially in the case of hedgehogs, were the primary reasons for wildlife admissions. The training background of the rehabilitators varied and was related to the animal species being treated. Those caring mainly for hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) were the least likely to have animal-related training or long-term experience in wildlife care. We show a notably high rehabilitation rate of approximately 80% of commonly treated species, significantly surpassing figures from other countries, which raises concerns that animals are admitted or released on too light grounds, leading to animal welfare problems. It is also noteworthy that only one-fifth of respondents said they kept records of animal admissions. Less than 40% of respondents emphasized the need for further education, which may indicate overestimation of personal skills. In conclusion, our study raises concerns regarding the ethics and potential harm associated with wildlife rehabilitation.

    Keywords: wildlife, Rehabilitation, species, Hedgehog, Release rates

    Received: 27 Jun 2024; Accepted: 09 Sep 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 White, Hänninen, Sainmaa and Valros. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kati White, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.