NEIGHBORHOOD VOICE SUBMISSION
Submitted by: Kristen Heitman, CWR
Executive Director of Providence Wildlife Rehabilitation Inc.
Providence Wildlife Rehabilitation, Inc. relocated to NE Westfield in 2005, amid a bounty of mature trees and surrounded by the tranquility of farmland, with neighboring homes few and far between.
We accept 1,100 to 1,500 wild animals (mammals/reptiles/amphibians/all bird species) each year, raising orphans and rehabilitating injured adults.
One of the essential elements of rehab is to provide a quiet and dark/light species-appropriate environment - devoid of loud noises, inappropriate lighting, noxious odors, and air-borne contaminants.
Currently, our wild patients benefit from outdoor pre-release conditioning with the ambient sounds of nature, open skies, trees, fields, and natural nocturnal/diurnal lighting.
If Providence Wildlife is surrounded by an industrial park with multi-story buildings, outdoor lighting, air-borne contaminants, noxious fumes, loud noise, etc., our wild patients will be impaired by such intrusions. These are serious stressors that must be avoided; stress myopathy is a grave concern and must be avoided for the well-being of the patient - it hinders their recovery and can result in death, some species being more susceptible than others.
Additionally, our education birds of prey are primarily housed in outdoor enclosures. The stressors listed above would affect them 24/7, and possibly affect their ability to be present at education programs for MacGregor Park and other venues if they are too unnaturally stressed.
Respectfully,
Kristen Heitman, CWR
Executive Director
