OGDEN, Utah — After 12 years of helping animals in need, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Northern Utah is closing its doors to new animals as they try to find a new building to call home.
They help thousands of animals every year but will have to temporarily close on Monday.
“Without their work, thousands of animals will die,” said Adison Smith with Wasatch Wanderers Animal Rescue.
Erin Adams has been with the wildlife rehabilitation center since she was 11 years old.
“Basically my whole life, my whole career, all my friends," she said.
The city of Ogden isn't renewing the center's lease so the dinosaur park next door can expand. That means the wildlife rehab center needs to find a new building.
“To avoid having a whole bunch of animals in our care with nowhere to take care of them, we are going to have to stop accepting patients on May 15,” Adams said.
Avian Flu is still a concern here in Utah. Birds that come in are quarantined. They have to be isolated and tested for weeks to make sure they are free of the virus before being moved to other areas.
“Without the capabilities to do a hard quarantine like that, we will be extremely limited with animals that we can take,” said Adams.
Without this center, there won't be many options for people who do find injured or orphaned animals.
“Veterinarians can’t take them in, they don’t hold the permits, and then animal shelters ... don’t hold permits, and they’re just not set up for birds. A lot of places don’t know what to do with a bird and so they call us, and we won't be here,” added Adams.
Smith said they are hosting a demonstration at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday near the entrance to the dinosaur park to raise awareness about what is happening.
“We will be able to delay this process, if not erase this process, and help save thousands of lives in the meantime. So that is our goal, and we are here for the animals," Smith said.
The center is looking for a temporary place to lease, while the long-term goal is to build its own space.
“We need community support. We need people to have our backs. Once we get a building to start building, we’re definitely going to need people to help us build, to help us raise money," Adams said.
More information about the center and ways to help can be found at wrcnu.org.
