The Saanich Police Department receives calls for a wide range of situations. Sometimes, those calls involve cute and unusual critters because the Saanich Pound works out of the police building
Just another day in the life of the Saanich Pound – rescuing baby bunnies & collecting stranded turtles!
This is a good reminder that wildlife needs to be handled with great care & only when it needs rescuing. #wildARC #handlewithcare #adorable pic.twitter.com/zIEWwJymEX
— Saanich Police (@SaanichPolice) June 19, 2019
On June 1, Saanich Pound responded to a call about seven baby bunnies that seemed to have been abandoned. They rescued the critters from a spot near Cadboro Bay.
Then, on Tuesday morning, a turtle was spotted in the middle of Nicholson Street. A caring citizen scooped up the stranded turtle and put it in a box to get it off the road until Saanich Pound officers could come by.
Upon being rescued, the bunnies and the turtle were brought to the Central Victoria Veterinary Hospital to be assessed and treated.
Next, the animals are picked up by the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre (Wild ARC) team to be rehabilitated.
“For wildlife, we typically turn them over to Wild ARC,” says Sgt. Julie Fast, public information officer for the Saanich Police.
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If people find wildlife that needs rescuing, they can call the Saanich Police and the pound will follow up, says Fast. The other option is to call Wild ARC directly, she explains.
“It is sometimes difficult to tell when [wild animals] need our help,” says Andrea Wallace, the manager at Wild ARC. For example, baby animals are often left alone because their parents don’t stay with them all day. If a wild animal seems to need help, Wallace recommends calling Wild ARC, the BC SPCA Provincial Call Centre, or a conservation officer. This is better than calling the pound, she says, because they are more equipped to handle domestic animals.
Wallace recommends staying with any injured wildlife until help arrives. She acknowledges that there are risks associated with handling adult mammals, so each situation will vary when it comes to moving the creature.
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“This is a good reminder that wildlife needs to be handled with great care [and] only when it needs rescuing,” said the Saanich PD on their Twitter account.
Taking a few photos can also help the experts assess the situation, says Wallace.
Injured or stranded wildlife can be reported to: Wild ARC at 250-478-9453; BC SPCA Provincial Call Centre at 1-855-622-7722; BC Conservation at 1-877-952-7277; Saanich Police Department at 250-475-4321; or Saanich Pound at 250-475-4321.
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