Wildlife Rescue & Education Center
PO Box 2409, Valley Center, CA 92082
(760)751-1445
Bob Farner's Wildlife Rescue and Education Center provides the
dual service to the community of a refuge for wounded animals or
lost baby animals, and an educational resource for our young people
to learn about these creatures.
The center, off Paradise Mountain Road, on Los Hermanos, has
been in existence in Valley Center since 1989.
Its primary purpose is for the rehabilitation of animals. The
volunteers get baby animals, usually after something has happened
to their parents. The center raises the babies and returns them to
the wild. They also doctor injured animals and release them back to
their natural homes.
Occasionally they help replace and relocate animals that are
trapped or in someone's way, such as a snake.
The animals they keep at the center in Valley Center are those
which, for whatever reasons, can't be released back into the wild.
They are used for education. Volunteers take the animals to
schools, to Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, to churches, clubs, even to
retirement homes. They also allow groups to visit the center.
At the center you'll see mountain lions, deer, bobcats, coyotes,
raccoons, a pot-bellied pig, a mustang horse, sea gulls, and many
different types of birds, including hawks and owls. All are
permanent residents.
Farner tells us, "We appreciate people to come out and take a
look. Our animals are native to this area and the U.S."
The animals that are to be rehabilitated and returned to the
wild are usually taken care of at various locations in the county
and in homes of volunteers.
The big challenge is to keep these wild creatures from turning
into "pets." If the animals are babies, there is always a risk they
will become "imprinted" on the human caring for them. When they
open their eyes the first thing they see is that person. They can
get attached to their human handlers as if they were their mothers.
So, as soon as they are able to eat on their own they are not
handled anymore.
"You don't play with them, that's the big thing," says
Farner.
The organization is all-volunteer and everything is donated. It
includes about 25-30 volunteers. They have heard of the work of the
center on television, from articles, and by word of mouth of those
who have visited and decided they want to help out.
Farner's center occasionally has fund-raisers, and they have had
booths at Western Days in the past.
Farner himself has been in love with wildlife since he was a boy
in Colorado. In Poway he belonged to an animal rescue group which
disbanded so there was no one left to take care of the animals.
"So I got permits from the California and U.S. fish and game,"
recalls Farner. "We have to be licensed for all the animals from
the U.S.D.A."
The center keeps records for the animals it cares for. Last year
was very busy. They cared for almost 3,000 animals. They didn't
save them all, but their return rate to the wild is very
successful: 60%-70%.
Farner's center is non-profit and any of your donations to them
are tax deductible for both state and federal taxes. Write to Bob
Farner's Wildlife Rescue at PO Box 2409, Valley Center, CA 92082. Or call (760)751-1445.
|
