Hedgehogs, foxes, martens, wild birds, abandoned pets, and neglected farm animals - these are the creatures protected by the volunteers of the Wroclaw's Ekostraż. If you think that a city is only a habitat for people, you are very wrong. There are plenty of animals around us and sometimes, due to our carelessness, neglect, or stupidity, they need help.
Out of love for animals
Wroclaw's Ekostraż Association was established in 2010. How
say its founders; it was established due to the desire to form a local animal protection organization that would support and care for all animals in the region (both domesticated and wild) and it quickly turned out that there are plenty of animals that do need help.
"We intervene as many as 500 times a month", said Patrycja Starosta of Ekostraż. "We respond to calls from the local residents. It can be a fox wandering around the garden, a hedgehog bit by a dog or hurt by a lawn mower, or an abandoned and injured dog or cat. Sometimes concerned neighbours inform us about farm animals kept in terrible conditions", she added. "I remember one case with hens, geese, and ducks that a Wroclaw resident "raised" in a small cage. The birds were quite squeezed inside", she said.
Spring - a hot season
They are active all year round but they are the definitely the busiest in the spring.
"This is when a lot of young animals are born and their parents are victims of thoughtless people. For example there are hedgehogs injured with lawn mowers or scared birds that leave their nests with the young animals inside. One time we found a stork with broken bones that flew into the window of a house", said Starosta. "There was another case where we received a two months old fox that was wandering between blocks of flats in southern Wroclaw. She most likely escaped from a fox farm somewhere. After she was dewormed and tested, she was accepted by one of our volunteers and then by a wild animal asylum that we are working with.
Spring is not the only busy season.
"We are also quite busy in the summer when people find out all of a sudden that their pets are a problem when they want to go on a holiday. This is when not only dogs and cats but also guinea pigs and dwarf rabbits are abandoned in forests and parks. By the way, the Odra River is full of abandoned water turtles and sometimes we even run into land turtles", admitted Starosta.
Saving and curing!
The animals saved by the association have not had an easy life. Most of them require specialized veterinary care.
"Our association does not have specialistic veterinary equipment. We don't even have room for it. What we use is temporary homes. However, we have a few veterinarians who help us and a few veterinary clinics that treat our animals at discount prices. We always try to do everything we can to help the animals. I remember hedgehog Albert that had X-ray, ultrasonography, and comprehensive blood tests done", she added.
"If possible, after treatment we set the wild animals free in their natural environment. Otherwise, when they are very ill, have undergone amputations, etc., they are placed in wild animal asylums that we are working with. Sometimes we go to the other side of Poland to find a place where the conditions for our animals will be the best", said Starosta.
You can help, too!
For every person working at the Ekostraż, this is a "second job".
"We have about 80 persons working with us, to include those that provide temporary homes for the animals. We are all volunteers and every one of us has a job to make a living", said Starosta. "You can help us in many ways, for example as a volunteer who provides a temporary home for a dog or cat that was abandoned or taken away from a negligent or abusive owner. You can also be our inspector and, after appropriate training, take part in our interventions. Some persons who work in corporations organize campaigns to collect items or money to help the animals. One thing is for sure - every effort counts.
If you want to help, learn how you can do it HERE.
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