Matters of the heart

Why wildlife rehabilitation? Wildlife rehabilitation is a job that I know many people would love to do. The idea of spending each day working with cute little animals is very appealing to people who don't realise the whole ton of different, confusing and somewhat conflicting emotions that come alongside working with wild animals. Emotions ranging from joy and elation when you see a healthy animal released back into the wild, to sadness and despair when an animal you have been caring for doesn't make it.

Many think that my job involves cuddling baby animals each day and getting to feed and watch them grow up. Honestly, it involves more cleaning cages, picking up poop and chopping endless amounts of apples. But I don't care, I honestly can say that I love my job, and the reason why I love it so much? Simple, I love animals. Wildlife rehabilitation is very much a profession lead by the heart. People with big hearts who just want to help what matters most to them. The late Stephen J Gould summarised this perfectly when he said "We cannot win this battle to save species and environments without forging an emotional bond between ourselves and nature as well - for we will not fight to save what we do not love."

This is one of the main reasons why I am completely in favour of zoos. There has been a lot of controversy surrounding zoos. Many people say it is cruel to keep animals locked up, they say the animals aren't happy at the zoos. I agree that some zoos are not fit to support animals. Some zoos keep animals in enclosures that are simply too small for the species within them. This I do not agree with. However when done correctly I firmly believe that zoos play an important role in the conservation of species across the globe. I know that I personally wouldn't have the love for animals that I do now, and the desire to protect them, if my parents hadn't taken me to zoos and wildlife parks when I was a child. Zoos also offer a refuge for some of the world's most endangered species. Many zoos now have breeding programs and re-introduction programmes to release animals back into the wild. So I can understand that some people firmly oppose the keeping of animals in enclosures, but I personally see the benefits that zoos have to offer.