The B.C. SPCA says there is a need for a wildlife rehabilitation centre in the Okanagan, and it would love to build one.

What91裸聊视频檚 needed to make it happen, according to Dr. Sara Dubois, chief scientific officer for the B.C. SPCA, is community support.

91裸聊视频淲e know the need is there, but the community is going to have to come forward (and support it),91裸聊视频� said Dubois.

In the South Okanagan, the SORCO Raptor Rehab Centre takes care of injured owls, eagles, hawks and other birds of prey. To the north, the Kamloops Wildlife Park Society operates a wildlife rehabilitation centre as part of its facility. The SPCA has a facility near Victoria, the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Centre.

But in the Central Okanagan, there is no specialized help for injured animals and wildlife needing extended treatment and they need to be transported a distance for help.

91裸聊视频淥ur Kelowna branch is frequently called out for rescues as well, as animals show up at the clinics in need of care,91裸聊视频� said Dubois.

91裸聊视频淭hat91裸聊视频檚 mammals and birds and reptiles and amphibians. Those animals right now don91裸聊视频檛 have a place to go locally. So there91裸聊视频檚 a patchwork of things that are happening. And there are some things that are not in the best interest of the animals; people try to take these animals home and care for them.91裸聊视频�

Dale Belvedere, SORCO manager, said that was a particular problem a couple of years ago when SORCO had to take in 44 great horned owl babies people had found out of their nests and thought they were in distress.

91裸聊视频淧eople kept seeing these babies on the ground and picking them up,91裸聊视频� said Belvedere, explaining the birds would likely have found their way back to the nest by themselves. Rather than interfering, she said people should have called SORCO to report the problem.

Belvedere said SORCO support establishing an SPCA rehab centre, but both she and Dubois agree it would take years to accomplish.

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SORCO specializes in raptors, but Dubois said a facility such as the one proposed could extend that care to a wide range of wildlife.

If there was a dedicated resource facility, there would be expert staff able to go out and deal with problems directly, from injured animals to reuniting baby birds with their nest mates.

Setting up such a facility would come with a cost. There would be costs for obtaining land, Dubois said, as well as building a facility or modifying existing buildings as needed. Then there would be ongoing costs for operating a facility.

91裸聊视频淥ur current facility takes in 3,000 animals a year and it costs about $850,000 to operate,91裸聊视频� said Dubois.

Starting out, an Okanagan facility would plan on taking in about half that number.

91裸聊视频淓ven taking in 1,500 animals a year, it91裸聊视频檚 going to be close to half a million dollars in operating costs,91裸聊视频� she said.

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Dubois said people may not understand that while overall conservation of wild animals is a government responsibility, when it comes to individual animals, 91裸聊视频渘o one91裸聊视频檚 paying for their care.91裸聊视频�

She said support needs to come from the business community and local governments, as well as the people.

91裸聊视频淭here could be a lot of good corporate sponsorships,91裸聊视频� said Dubois, adding the SPCA has had conversations with business owners.

91裸聊视频淭he community of the Okanagan would really thrive and could show they are a compassionate community that wants to take care with wildlife.

91裸聊视频淭he residents of the Okanagan deserve to have something like this for their wildlife. We know they care,91裸聊视频� she added.