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Should we intervene to help wildlife
#1
It seems that there is now a movement to get involved with wildlife to reduce suffering and death. The issue is known as Wild Animal Welfare (WAW). It is a complex subject and if done badly more harm will be done. The well meaning people who "rescued" a baby Bison ultimately separated it from its herd and mother and caused its death. However providing vaccines to stop the spread of disease can have a real positive effect.

I think it is natural that we want to help, but we also feel that we should let nature take its course. The right way is probably a balance between the two positions. A lot of wildlife is in trouble because of things we have done. Helping in that case is just undoing the damage we have done. Whatever we do we need to think it through carefully. 

https://www.fastcompany.com/90339706/the...f-wildlife

On a local level with my own garden, I don't have a feeder for the birds, but I did plant trees and shrubs that naturally provide food and shelter. I see it as a more reliable long term solution. I set it up so that nature can help my local birds.

Building tunnels and bridges so wildlife can safely cross roads is another way of intervening to prevent animal deaths. We built the roads that are killing animals in the first place so it makes sense for us to do this.

Turtle watch volunteers who protect turtle nests until they hatch are really just giving the animals a boost since they have been so badly impacted by human activity. This is a well thought out idea that does help.  It is important that any action taken be carefully considered so it does actually help. There are many stories of human intervention that has been disastrous. Right now animals need us to make good choices when we help them.
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Catherine

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#2
It is a very important thing to "help" wildlife. So long as we do it in the right way, and with the right advice. Oftentimes, our kindly attempts to "help" cause the animals suffering and pain and even death.
And with the right knowledge we can help and support them.

Even something as simple as a bird table or bird feeders can be more complex that we think -to make sure the food we put out is correct for the species of birds we get as visitors.

(Goodness knows about Koori and his half slice of Hovis with meat paste! But he seems to be thriving on his little treat over the years now. And during the terribly dry period when he couldn't forage /hunt in the field very much as the ground was like concrete, he definitely needed a little help from his friend!)  Smiley4
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#3
I think Koori is in a special category. He is not exactly wildlife in many ways. Koori is your neighbourhood crow who counts on you when needed. You have a personal bond.

I hear you about bird feeders. If you are putting out food it needs to be the right food and it needs to be consistent. The birds count on being fed in the winter. During a bad storm I made sure I got food out for them even though it was difficult. From the numbers of birds in my yard, other feeders must have been empty. That was an exceptional situation, but people who suddenly stop feeding the birds can put them at risk. It is hard to find an alternate food source in the middle of winter.

Rescuing the baby turtles really does help. Teams of trained people watch nests. After a hurricane they rescued babies that had washed ashore and got them back out to sea. What doesn't help is untrained, well meaning people who see a nest of tortoises hatching in the sand and thinking that they are sea turtles, gather them up and dump them  in the water.
They all die because they cannot swim.

We need to help wildlife, but we need to know what we are doing. It is more useful to support  a local wildlife group or to work with a group that knows what needs to be done. Of course planting things that help animals naturally is always in order. It is a matter of providing what should be there in the first place.
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Catherine

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#4
Yes I think everyone could benefit from having some education about wildlife and what we can best to to help them. Perhaps just starting with their local wildlife.
I feel it should be taught in schools.
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#5
I think we should a lot of what's happening with wildlife is due to human interference,we should be careful about what sort of help we give without upsetting the balance.
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#6
If you check out the butterfly section, I found an article about Monarch Butterflies being raised in captivity. There are people who go around and collect the chrysalids and bring them inside to finish their transformation into butterflies.
The research isn't conclusive yet, but butterflies raised inside don't migrate. If they don't migrate they don't survive and they don't have offspring that will migrate back. It could be that the people "helping" the butterflies are actually doing the opposite.

I am helping by planting milkweed and flowering shrubs and perennials. I figure the animals will know what to do if I give them what they need. I got the milkweed plants as part of a program to help the butterflies. Thousands of plants have been sold in Toronto so there are many plants for the butterflies to choose for laying their eggs.  I think this is help that is useful and sustainable. The people running the program brought in the right kind of plants so we really are helping the butterflies and the whole environment.
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Catherine

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