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By Jay Holcomb,
Executive Director, IBRRC
 |
| IBRRC's
Bruce Adkins searches for
oiled animals at the Selendang
Ayu grounding off Unalaska
Island in 2004. (Photo: Steve
Ebert/USFWS) |
In
December 2004, members of IBRRC’s
oil spill response team responded
to the Selandang
Ayu Oil Spill in the Aleutian
Islands, Alaska. It was a sad and
frustrating experience that claimed
human lives as well as thousands
of seabirds and other marine animals.
Severe winter storms crippled all
rescue and clean up efforts and
only 23 live birds were captured
and brought to our center in Anchorage
to be rehabilitated. The remaining
oiled birds and mammals perished
in the storms.
To add insult to injury,
Craig Medred, a local writer for
the Anchorage
Daily News, recycled an editorial
he did on IBRRC, its staff and volunteers
in 1996 when we responded to the
Citrus oil spill in Alaska. In both
editorials Mr. Medred made ridiculous
assumptions, most notably that “we
only rehabilitate oiled birds to
feel good about ourselves”
and that the animals suffer horribly
in the process, calling our center
in Anchorage the “Anchorage
Bird Torture Center”.
Committed and highly
trained people were affected and
hurt by his words. However, it made
me really think about why he, and
occasionally others, did not recognize
the value of each animal’s
life, the proven track record that
IBRRC and others have in rehabilitating
them, and why we know it is our
responsibility to do what we can
to help them. First of all I want
to clarify something. I know of
no person in our field that cares
for frightened and debilitated oiled
birds so that they can feel good
about themselves. That is beyond
absurd but it has come up a few
times! Believe me, there are so
many other things we could all be
doing with our time.
 |
Oiled
Crested-Auklet at IBRRC's
Anchorage center receives
treatment. (Photo: IBRRC) |
The United States alone
sees hundreds of oil spills every
year that impact wildlife. Federal
and state laws now require that
oiled birds receive care and that
is why oiled wildlife rehabilitation
continues to exist; because there
is a need for it and given the right
circumstances, it can be very successful.
Those of us who rehabilitate
oiled wildlife are passionate about
our work because we often achieve
positive results by helping to restore
an animal who otherwise would not
have a chance. We know we are contributing
to the world in a valuable and meaningful
way through practical application
of our time and proven skills. The
passion or excitement we demonstrate
in our work should never be interpreted
as “we do this work to feel
good about ourselves”. It
is the other way around! We believe
in the work and its value and in
turn we feel good about our involvement
in it. We know animals are not only
valuable but it is our responsibility
to care for them, since we created
the problem, not because we need
it or want it. Any other interpretation
of this enthusiasm is just plain
ignorant.
Our work with wildlife goes far
beyond oil spills. IBRRC manages
two oiled bird rehabilitation centers
in California as a member of the
Oiled Wildlife Care Network. Within
these state-of- the-art facilities,
IBRRC operates its own rehabilitation
program. This program specializes
in aquatic bird rehabilitation for
birds that experience other problems
such as fishing tackle injuries
or displacement from urban growth.
These unique groups of birds are
also the species that typically
are victims of oil spills, and so
for the past 35 years we have been
specializing in their care and applying
this knowledge to oiled birds.
We cared for a record
number of birds in 2005 –
including over 1,300 wild ducklings
and goslings as part of our native
waterfowl reintroduction efforts.
We also responded to eight unique
oils spills in the United States
and internationally.
Partnering in oil spills
and other wildlife events is key
to our success and we are proud
of these joint efforts. IBRRC staff,
utilizing their emergency response
experience, played a crucial role
with the International Fund for
Animal Welfare (IFAW) coordinating
pet rescue and transport efforts
after Hurricane Katrina. Additionally,
we are working with UC Davis Wildlife
Health Center to provide the best
medical care for the patients in
our rehabilitation program and on
a number of research projects aimed
at understanding new threats to
wild birds including West Nile Virus
and Avian Flu.
In 2006, IBRRC enters
our 35th year of existence. There
are still oil spills throughout
the world and many birds in need
of care. We have ventured out internationally
to help others in similar situations
be better prepared and learn key
skills in caring for oiled wildlife.
We continue to work towards our
mission:
“To mitigate human
impact on aquatic birds and other
wildlife. This is achieved through
rehabilitation, emergency response,
education, research, planning and
training.” |
