Evaluation of Current Scientific Literature on the Impact of Wildlife Rehabilitation on Conservation, Documentation of Knowledge Gaps and Identification of Future Opportunities

In an effort to qualify the conservation impact of wildlife rehabilitation programs, a literature search for post-release outcomes of rehabilitated avian wildlife was conducted to look at evidence for direct impacts. Thirty-six papers out of 787 returned in the literature search met inclusion criteria, reflecting an overall lack of published data in this field. The majority of the papers (55%) evaluated post-release survival following an oil spill; 36% looked at outcomes after any type of injury; and 8% investigated the survival or success of chicks admitted as “orphans” and hand reared or captive raised before release. Seabirds, waterfowl, and raptors were the most common taxa studied with interspecies variation in outcomes noted. Most studies used survival or reproduction/breeding recruitment as metrics for post-release outcomes. There was a general lack of availability of avian rehabilitation data and no standardized definition(s) for successful outcome.

In addition to the direct impacts, indirect conservation contributions from the wildlife rehabilitation field were summarized, although a full literature search was not done. These included the influence on human-wildlife conflicts; the role of injured and ill wildlife as disease sentinels; the value of wildlife rehabilitation as a data resource and source of rehabilitation science; and the opportunities for public education/outreach. Recommendations for leveraging wildlife rehabilitation as a conservation resource are made based on identified knowledge gaps and potential tools for improved data collection.