Alerts & Notices
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13 Bald Eagles found dead on Maryland’s Eastern Shore
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With the current weather conditions in the Mid-Atlantic area and the potential for severe effects from Hurricane Joaquin, MWRA urges all Wildlife Rehabilitators to take the following precautions.
Members of the MWRA Board are available to help answer any questions. Contact info is available on this website.
[Information provided in part from the Humane Society of the United States and the MWRA. It has been edited for content.]Take Precautions
Bring in any animals that are outdoors as they are most susceptible to potential flooding or heavy rains and wind; damages to their housing structures; airborne objects; downed power and telephone lines. Have a relocation plan for animals and staff & volunteers ready in case of flooding or potential weather threat to facility!
The following is a list of suggestions recommended to help keep the rescued animals under your care safe during an emergency.
Details
- Have a disaster plan to protect your property, your facilities, and your animals. Create a list of emergency telephone numbers, including those of your staff and volunteers, veterinarian, state veterinarian, and transportation resources (in case a truck is needed for relocation).
- Include a contact person outside the disaster area. Make sure all this information is written down and that everyone has a copy.
- Make sure every animal has durable and visible identification.
- Identify alternate water and power sources. A generator with a safely stored supply of fuel may be essential, especially if you have electrical equipment necessary to the well being of your animals.
- Make sure all food and medical supplies necessary are identified and stored in a safe and secure location, but are easily available in case of emergency or needing to relocate.
- Secure or remove anything that could become blowing debris; make a habit of securing trailers, propane tanks, and other large objects. If you have any large containers, fill them with water before any high wind event. This prevents them from blowing around and also gives you an additional supply of water.
- If you use heat lamps or other electrical machinery, make sure the wiring is safe and that any heat source is clear of flammable debris.
- Label hazardous materials and place them all in the same safe area. Provide local fire and rescue and emergency management authorities with information about the location of any hazardous materials on your property.
- Review and update your disaster plan, supplies, and information regularly.
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Alerts
Click to Read More!# ALERT: Update info on H5N2 and H5N8 in Central U.S.
from Dr. Jonathan Sleeman, Center Director, USGS National Wildlife Health Center HighlyPathogenicAvianFluInCentralU.S.
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# ALERT: Attention US Rehabbers: News from the USFWS
Migratory Bird Permit Annual Reports Due by January 31, 2015
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# ALERT: Detection of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Viruses
H5N2 and H5N8 in the United States
National Wildlife Health Center Wildlife Health Bulletin 2014-05
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# ALERT: Endangered Whooping Crane and Piping Plover Possible Casualties
Major Bird Conservation Groups Oppose Merricourt Wind Energy Project in North Dakota
Endangered Whooping Cranes may be casualties of a plan to install 75 wind turbines in the species’ migration corridor in North Dakota. While supportive of well-planned and properly sited wind energy, ABC and the International Crane Foundation have sent a letter to federal officials raising concerns about the impacts of this facility on cranes and other birds.
Press Release: http://support.abcbirds.org/site/R?i=-6zPitelurFM2kFu-D9xcQ
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# ALERT: For Raccoon Handlers at Wildlife Rehabilitation Centers
From: Michael JOHN Yabsley [mailto:myabsley@uga.edu]
Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2014 7:22 AM
To: Michael JOHN Yabsley
Subject: Wildlife Rehabilitation request
Please take a few moments to help rehabilitators learn about an important parasite:
A few months ago we sent a survey out that asked a series of questions for wildlife rehabilitators on their knowledge of Baylisascaris procyonis (raccoon roundworm). We would like to say a HUGE thanks to those that took the survey already and we wanted to give one last chance to ask folks to give us a few minutes of your time. Even if you do not rehabilitate raccoons, we particularly encourage you to participate, and because your survey is shorter, it should only take you 5 minutes or so. For those that do rehabilitate raccoons, the survey should take about 10-15 minutes. The survey will be closed December 23, 2014. Please click the following link to access the survey. https://ugeorgia.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_cN5zJHhNNa9poDr
Please forward this survey to as many folks as possible that might be interested in helping us out. We plan to analyze these data after the holidays and begin presenting and publishing the data so that folks can learn about this important parasite. Because we are trying to get this out to as many people as possible, it likely has been cross-listed so we apologize if you get this multiple times.
Below is a longer introduction to the project and some details on how to participate. Again, it is very short and we appreciate your help with this project. After the survey is completed additional information and maps for B. procyonis will be made available. The survey has many questions that you may not know, please indicate ‘do not know’ when applicable and know that these data are also important for us. It helps determine the groups of folks that may need additional information on this parasite and exactly what information is needed.
We are also interested in hearing from folks that have a particular interest in B. procyonis. We are collecting records of B. procyonis reports in raccoons so that we can continue to update distribution maps.
Finally, we are also conducting a study to test wildlife rehabilitators for B. procyonis exposure (testing blood samples for antibodies). If you are interested in being tested, you can have a physician collect a blood sample and send it to us at your expense for testing. Please contact us at myabsley@uga.edu for details. Similarly, if any wildlife centers are collecting blood samples during annual health exams (e.g., rabies titer checks), this would be an ideal time to participate in this study.
Sincerely,
Michael
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Michael J. Yabsley
Associate Professor
589 D.W. Brooks Drive
College of Veterinary Medicine
University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia 30602
Office: (706) 542-1741
FAX: (706) 542-5865
myabsley@uga.edu