CFCR COMMUNITY CONNECT – December 2024
Welcome to CFCR Community Connect – where we help to connect you with local community organizations that are doing amazing work!
This Holiday season, we are shining a spotlight on the Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatoon.
WRSOS was founded in 2006 by a group of like-minded individuals who thought that by establishing a provincial hotline, calls could be triaged before animals were needlessly brought in to the few existing wildlife rehabbers in the province at the time. It was originally called the Wildlife Rehabilitation Society of Saskatchewan but we rebranded in 2021 and changed to Wildlife Rescue Society of Saskatchewan with a renewed focus on helpline and rescues.
What types of programs or activities do you offer? What’s your most successful program?
We run the provincial wildlife helpline and facilitate the rescue of injured and orphaned wildlife throughout the province. Our helpline operates daily from 9-5, 365 days a year – yes, we answer calls on all holidays including Christmas! Our helpline is the most important thing we do, as we answer questions from the public and prevent the unnecessary removal of wildlife from the wild by explaining natural behaviours as well as provide humane solutions to wildlife conflicts, etc.
Are there specific demographics of communities you primarily serve?
With a network of approximately 150 volunteers, we cover most areas in the province, both rural and urban. Our helpline can be accessed free of charge from anywhere.
How have you seen your organization’s work make a difference? Can you share any success stories or provide examples of positive outcomes directly impacted by your organization?
We witness positive outcomes from our calls on a regular basis – in fact, there are too many to list them all! However, a few examples are worth mentioning, such as the orphaned moose calf in SE Saskatchewan that was successfully rehabilitated and released the following year, or the coyote that got hit on the highway, was trapped in the grill of a card and travelled many kilometers before being brought to our helpline. Thanks to the efforts of a trained volunteer, we were able to expertly extract the coyote from the grill, rehabilitate it, and release it back into the wild.
Do you collaborate with other non-profits, agencies, or businesses to provide programs or resources? How do these collaborations enhance the effectiveness of your programs?
A big part of WRSOS is the partnerships that we have built. We work closely with provincial conservation offices, our permitted wildlife rehabilitators, target veterinarians, as well as our national partners like Coyote Watch Canada.
What are any challenges or obstacles your organization has faced? How were they overcome?
The biggest challenge we face is the demand for our services – we have become a victim of our own success! Calls to our helpline have increased year over year, with a jump of several thousand calls in 2020 alone. We now have to fundraise to cover more staffing just to manage the huge influx of calls.
Do you have a long-term vision for your organization?
Do we ever!! We want to keep expanding our reach by increasing the communities that have volunteers. We want to have substantial educational program that we will offer to schools, free of charge. We hope to one day have vehicles to help transport wildlife throughout our vast province, as well as top of the line rescue equipment, watercraft, etc.
How can the community help your organization reach its goals?
We rely on the generosity of the public and businesses to support us as we receive no government funding and instead have to fundraiser for all that we do. You can support us by donation to us, support our fundraising efforts, follow us on social media and share our educational posts! We are always looking for business partners.
What volunteer opportunities are there within your organization? How can individuals or groups get involved and support your organization through volunteering?
We open up volunteer applications for helpline and rescue positions twice a year in the Spring and Fall. We are always looking for transport volunteers throughout the year. We provide all training and offer a fun, supportive environment.
What about fundraising or donating opportunities?
We are currently running a fundraiser called Help Us Help Them which is a tiered donation platform where you can choose the level of support that you are comfortable with and even designate where you would like the funds to be allocated, as we give examples of what it can be used for.
What is something you wish more people knew about your organization?
We want people to know that we are the community link for wildlife in the province and are the trusted source for wildlife information and help. We encourage everyone to call us if they have wildlife questions, conflicts or to report injured or orphaned wildlife and we will help!
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