Wildlife Conservation Agreement. PUSH Metropolitan city of Turin renewed the project for this year as well “Let’s Save It Together”which involves the direct deployment of workers from the specialized function of protecting the fauna and flora of the metropolitan city together with the head Non-Traditional Animal Center (Canc) within the special veterinary teaching structure of the University of Turin.
In 2023, thanks to the project, it was possible to restore and secure further 5 thousand wild animals in trouble. “Important numbers – explains Kodami Mitzy Mauthe von Degerfeld, responsible for Canc – and are not homogeneous throughout the year. The peak of recovery is actually yet to come, it will be from the end of February to the end of September, which corresponds to childbirth. We are already thinking about the porridges and smoothies that are waiting for us in the freezer.’
Among the species that are most often threatened in the area are: pigeons, swifts, hedgehogs, blackbirds, roe deer, foxes, raptors and badgers.
A convention that raised funds this year 37 thousand eurosprovides: a 24/7 first aid service to guarantee the acceptance of animals and emergency or first level medical care and equipped health center for medical and surgical therapy, postoperative therapy, first hospitalization.
It also includes: one or more therapeutic-rehabilitation centers and one or more structures that can house animals with a chronic disability that cannot be released back into the wild and exotic animals acquired or confiscated.
If citizens find themselves face-to-face with an injured or distressed wild animal, they can call 349 4163385. But before that, it’s best to make sure it’s not a first-flight baby or a puppy being watched from afar by its mother. Situations that are normal in nature and that do not require human intervention.
But unfortunately not everyone has yet received this message: «In the spring we receive many requests for intervention for puppies left alone – explains the head of Canc – and it is difficult to get people to understand that they are often animals. under parental supervision, who do not need help. To take away a fawn, fawn or fox cub is not to help it, but to kidnap it. But getting that message across is very difficult, so in the spring we find ourselves hospitalizing up to 150 puppies a day.”
Children once brought to the Center cannot be released back into the wild until they are self-sufficient: «We have specific protocols for these situations – continues Mitzy Mauthe von Degerfeld – but obviously, no matter how precise, they can never replace the training we received naturally from our parents».
However, in all other cases of wild animals in distress, you can call the Centre’s number if you have the right motivation, on-site recovery serviceactive 24 hours a day to keep the animal safe and provide it with the necessary care.
The operator who answers will also be able to advise how behave while waiting for intervention veterinary health workers. In fact, the calls are taken by technicians with training that allows them to rescue and manage wildlife in the most appropriate way and protect the safety of people and animals.
However, if there is an encounter with small individuals whose transport is not demanding, the citizens can handle it bring them directly to the device veterinaryin Largo Paolo Braccini 2 in Grugliasco (Turin).
Finally, in the event of feral pigs in distress, the veterinary services of the relevant local health authority should be contacted as established for the control of African swine fever (ASF).