In 2021, Jennifer Howard and other Innisfil community members were busy trapping mangy foxes and taking them to Procyon Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Centre in Beeton.
“If an animal needs help, I will always get involved. They can’t help themselves,” said Howard, who, for eight years, has been a volunteer with the centre.
The rescue effort in Innisfil and surrounding areas resulted in the rehabilitation and safe release of a record number of 26 foxes.
“It took almost two years to make them healthy again so they could go home,” said Howard.
Founded in 2009, the wildlife rehab was initially just a small room to attend to injured animals — for the most part, raccoons, or Procyon lotor in Latin.
“A local veterinarian kept getting calls for wildlife in distress, mostly raccoons. That prompted her to get her wildlife licence, and she opened a rehab out of her basement,” said Howard.
The initiative attracted the attention of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority, which made available a cottage it owned for the veterinarian to house the centre.
Over the years, Procyon has rescued many animals that were in need of help, whether orphaned, injured or sick. These have included mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians.
Howard said sometimes animals are in need of care that costs much more than the centre can cover and, in those cases, it needs to step up and raise money. That’s the case of a fawn that had ligament damage to her leg, and it needed to be repaired through a special orthopedic surgery.
“We went to the community online and raised $2,300 so the wee fawn could have her surgery,” she recalled.
More recently, the centre held a large, and successful, fundraiser to get a portable X-ray machine.
“Soon after training is complete, we will be able to do X-rays right away for animals coming in with bad injuries and possible broken bones,” Howard said.
She also made note of the donation of a trailer provided by the Alliston Humane Society, which will be used as an admitting and education office.
“Working with the communities and putting the word out for various articles, food and other items and equipment we need has most always been successful in the end,” she said.
The centre is also challenged by the need for volunteers to look after the admitted animals.
“Our volunteers are special, caring people, but it takes a lot of them to make it work,” she said.
In addition to getting the animals the help they need, Procyon provides educational presentations that help people recognize wildlife health issues.
“More education is needed so that people know what they can do to help an animal in need,” she said.
While the mange now seems under control, Howard noted distemper — a raccoon-related disease — seems to be on the rise.
“Distemper affects the animal neurologically, is very painful, and can be tricky,” Howard said.
Raccoons with distemper become disoriented and often seek out help, she added.
“They appear as though they are friendly and will approach people, but they are still exceptionally dangerous, which can be confusing for residents, especially children.”
The wildlife centre is in talks with the Town of Innisfil to reinstate local animal control services, particularly wildlife response. If reinstated, control officers will help by removing sick and injured animals in distress.
“The sick will be in care and not out there to spread the disease to healthy animals, which will give us healthier wildlife in the area,” Howard said.
The move, which is backed by a petition with more than 1,000 signatures, will be discussed by town council at its April 12 meeting.
Besides taking care of sick and injured wildlife, from mice to fawns, Procyon needs help to carry out tasks that do not require direct animal handling, such as laundry, dishes, and food preparation. Volunteers who take calls from people seeking help for an animal in distress from home are also valuable assets.
“No matter what you do, the rewards are endless when the day comes that you watch those animals who came in struggling running free again,” Howard said.
More information about Procyon can be found at procyonwildlife.com.
