Hope for Wildlife (HFW) is a non-profit wildlife rehabilitation and education centre located on a farm in Seaforth, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was founded by Hope Swinimer in 1997 as The Eastern Shore Wildlife Rehabilitation and Rescue Centre. It got its current name in 2006. A television series, Hope for Wildlife, began documenting the centre's efforts in 2009.
The centre is dedicated to providing care to injured and orphaned animals before releasing them back into the wild. It also seeks to connect people to wildlife in a positive way through education for a sustainable future. As of 2024, the center has helped over 90,000 animals return to their wild habitat, representing over 250 species. The money for the farm comes almost entirely from public donations. Larger fundraising can come from events like the annual open house where people tour the farm, government grants for summer employees, and income from the TV show. In an interview with a local paper, Swinimer admits the show is "a little hammed up," but it brings money into the rehab centre and children from all over the country write letters asking about the animals. A volunteer tells of meeting people in South Africa who first heard of Nova Scotia on the show, which airs in more than 20 countries."[1][2]
History
While working at Dartmouth Veterinary Hospital in 1995, Hope Swinimer received as a patient a robin that had been attacked by a cat. While taking care of the bird, she developed an eagerness to learn more about taking care of injured wildlife. Her passion quickly led her to start doing wildlife rehabilitation as a full-time career, turning her home into a makeshift rehabilitation centre, starting with a few cages in the backyard and using her spare room as a nursery. In 1996, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR)[3] required Hope to obtain a wildlife rehabilitation permit for her makeshift wildlife center even though such a permit did not exist in Nova Scotia at the time. Hope worked with DNR to establish a licensing process that allowed for wildlife rehabilitation in the province. In 1997, she received her rehabilitation permit, and moved to Winnie's Way in Seaforth, Nova Scotia. Here she established the Eastern Shore Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre. The centre became the first fully private wildlife rescue facility in Nova Scotia.[4] After just a few years, the demands for the centre's help outgrew the property and in 2001 Hope moved again. Staying in Seaforth, Hope moved to a nearby farm property[5] which allowed for expansion to her growing enterprise. Five years after this move, in 2006 the Eastern Shore Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre officially became known as Hope for Wildlife, a registered charitable organization that continues to grow.[6]
In 2012, the primary worker at HFW for eight years, and then manager, Allison Dube, left and moved to Scotland.[7] As of 2015, the centre had helped over 15,000 animals from over 250 species.[8] In 2018, a major member of HFW, Reid Steward Patterson, died.[9] As of 2024, the centre had helped over 40,000 animals.[2]
Mission statement
The organization has put forth a mission statement to outline what it wishes to achieve. It lists three main goals:[10]
Rescue, rehabilitate and reintroduce to the wild injured and orphaned wildlife.
Educate others about the importance of conserving wild animals and the ecosystems that sustain them.
Research and develop the knowledge and understanding necessary for the conservation and management of wildlife.
Progress
Since 1997, the facility has grown phenomenally, starting with development of the education centre which allowed for people to visit the facility and learn about wildlife and what the organization does. The education centre itself grew and now consists of one building, an outdoor pavilion and wildlife gardens.[11] Many accomplishments have been made on the rehabilitation side of the facility too. Hope for Wildlife became the first in the province to legally rehabilitate and release white tailed deer and birds of prey, developing a 100-foot-long flight cage for large birds,[8] and a deer enclosure (which consists of over an acre of field and a small barn designed for raising orphaned white tailed deer). The facility hit a milestone when they opened the first wildlife veterinary hospital in the province back in 2012.[12] The next big projects consisted of building a marine unit, for the growing number of injured seal pups and sea birds. Following the marine unit, a large mammal unit was constructed at the back of the property for the larger predator mammals, such as bobcats.[13] On average, the centre sees about 3,500 animals a year,[6] continuing to take in more animals each year. These animals may have been injured, orphaned or lost.[10] Animals the centre has worked with include fox, deer, raccoons, skunks and beavers.
The centre receives approximately 40,000 callers a year to its wildlife helpline, which is put in place for anyone who comes into contact with a wild animal in need of assistance.[6]
Funding
The organization gets most of its funding from small donations given by the public, both those who visit the centre and those who call the helpline. The majority of donations are around $10 and pay for about $95,000 of necessities such as feed, cleaning supplies, and building upkeep.[1]
Larger donations come from events like the annual open house that the centre hosts, gift shop proceeds, government grants set forth for summer employees and any money coming from a TV series. Simply named Hope for Wildlife, the program follows many of the organization's stories.[1][14]
Television series
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (March 2017)
Hope for Wildlife
Based on
Hope for Wildlife
Starring
Hope Swinimer
Country of origin
Canada
Original language
English
No. of seasons
10
No. of episodes
137
Production
Production locations
Seaforth, Nova Scotia
Running time
52 min (1 hour timeslot)
Production company
Arcadia Content
Original release
Release
January16,2011(2011-01-16)
Produced by Arcadia Content[15] the documentary series, "Hope for Wildlife", follows the team as they nurse thousands of injured and orphaned wildlife back to health and return them to the wild. The stories of the animals and the team members that devote their lives to saving them are depicted in each episode.[16] Filming of the first season began in 2009 and the series ended with its tenth season in 2020.[14] The series is continued by another TV series, Hope In the Wild. Episodes are an hour long. Online episodes can be found on Arcadia Wild,[17] Oasis HD,[18] The Knowledge Network,[19] and CottageLife.[20] In the United States, 30-minute episodes known as Hope in the Wild air as part of the CBS Dream Team programming block.[21]
The show also has additional coverage at Dr. Barry's practice.[22] And the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic.[23] It also had some additional coverage at Hope's city pound, Homeward Bound City Pound, that she operated from 2010 to 2020.[24][25]
Episode 100 was aired on 1 February 2019, filmed in the 21st year of the centre's history (during summer 2018).[26]
The Monkey World Ape Rescue Centre is a 65-acre (26.3 ha) ape and monkey sanctuary, rescue centre and primatarium near Wool, Dorset, England.
WIRES Wildlife Rescue is the largest wildlife rescue & rehabilitation charity in Australia. It is a non-profit organisation providing rescue and rehabilitation for all native Australian fauna. All animal rescuers and carers are volunteers. It is funded by public donations and operates throughout the most populous Australian state, New South Wales.
The Born Free Foundation is an international wildlife charity that campaigns to "Keep Wildlife in the Wild". It protects wild animals in their natural habitat, campaigns against the keeping of wild animals in captivity and rescues wild animals in need. It also promotes compassionate conservation, which takes into account the welfare of individual animals in conservation initiatives. Born Free also creates and provides educational materials and activities that reflect the charity's values.
Sepilok Orangutan Rehabilitation Centre is located about 25 kilometres west of Sandakan in the state of Sabah, Malaysia.
Wildlife rehabilitation is the process of caring for injured, sick, orphaned, or displaced wild animals with the goal of releasing them back into their natural habitat. It involves medical treatment, temporary housing, and specialized care for a variety of species, from birds and mammals to reptiles and amphibians. Wildlife rehabilitation combines veterinary science, wildlife conservation, and animal welfare to ensure that animals have the best chance for recovery and survival after facing challenges such as injury, disease, or human interference.
Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the rescue and care of orphaned, injured, abandoned, abused or confiscated wild animals in Zimbabwe. It is located in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
The British Columbia Wildlife Park is a 106-acre (43 ha) zoo located in Kamloops, British Columbia.
The New Forest Wildlife Park is located on the edge of The New Forest close to the towns of Ashurst and Lyndhurst. The park specialises in native and past-native wildlife of Britain and otters and owls from around the globe, housing four species of the former and ten of the latter.
The California Living Museum is a zoo in Bakersfield, California. The primary focuses are plants and animals that are native to California, specifically Kern County.
Open Season 3 is a 2010 American animated comedy film produced by Sony Pictures Animation with animation provided by Reel FX Creative Studios. It is the third installment in the Open Season film series and is set after the events of Open Season 2 (2008). Directed by Cody Cameron, the film theatrically premiered in Russia on October 21, 2010 and was released as a direct-to-video in the United States and Canada on January 25, 2011. The film received mixed reviews from critics and grossed $7 million worldwide.
International Animal Rescue (IAR) is a British wildlife protection and conservation non-profit organization. IAR aims to protect and mitigate the threats to wildlife and habitats.
The Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park is a government-operated wildlife park located in Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia, Canada. The 40-hectare park includes animals, an interpretive nature centre operated by Ducks Unlimited Canada, hiking trails, a picnic area and playground.
Big Cat Rescue Corp., also known as BCR and previously known as Wildlife on Easy Street, Inc., operates an animal sanctuary in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, which rescues and houses exotic cats, and rehabilitates injured or orphaned native wild cats. It was founded by Don Lewis and Carole Baskin in 1995.
The Bornean Sun Bear Conservation Centre is a wildlife conservation and research centre for improving animal welfare and rehabilitation of the Malayan sun bear. It also aims to raise public awareness about the plight of the sun bears and to raise conservation awareness about this species.
The Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA) is a no kill, non-profit cat rescue organization in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, providing trap–neuter–return services to Vancouver and nearby communities.
Bannerghatta Biological Park, also known as the Bannerghatta Zoo, is a zoological garden located in the city of Bengaluru. It was initially a small zoo and picnic corner within Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) which was started in 1974. The bifurcation of the Biological Park and the National Park took place in 2002. The Bannerghatta Biological Park covers a total area of 731.88 hectares and includes a zoo, safari park, butterfly park and rescue centre. The Zoo Authority of Karnataka, the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, and the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, are collaborating agencies. For the convenience of the general public, the Governing Council of Zoo Authority of Karnataka had decided to rename Bannerghatta Biological Park as 'Bengaluru Bannerghatta Biological Park' (BBBP).
Wildlife SOS (WSOS) is a conservation non-profit organisation in India, established in 1995 with the primary objective of rescuing and rehabilitating wildlife in distress, and preserving India's natural heritage. It is currently one of the largest wildlife organisations in South Asia.
The Wildlife Rescue Association of BC(WRA) is a wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centre based in Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada, that is permitted to care for injured, orphaned, and pollution-damaged wildlife in British Columbia. It is a member of the Wildlife Rehabilitators' Network of British Columbia (WRNBC).
The OWL Rehabilitation Society is a wildlife rescue and raptor rehabilitation centre permitted to care for sick, injured, and orphaned birds of prey which includes eagles, falcons, hawks, ospreys, owls, and vultures. OWL is located in Delta, British Columbia, Canada.
1 2 Shirley Nadeau (August 12, 2015). "There's Hope for wildlife in Nova Scotia". The Chronicle-Telegraph. Quebec, Quebec, Canada: Quebec Chronicle-Telegraph. Archived from the original on December 2, 2016. Retrieved December 2, 2016.
↑ "Fall/Winter 2009"(PDF). The Wild Side: A Newsletter from the Hope for Wildlife Society. Hope for Wildlife. Archived from the original(PDF) on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
