Established for twenty years in Audenge (Gironde), the LPO animal care center covers the whole of Gironde, but also Dordogne and Lot-et-Garonne.
It collects more than 4,000 animals per year, of which around 70% are birds, but also mammals and reptiles.
If he is able to provide all the care to put these animals back on their feet, he does not have a surgical room for trauma requiring operations.
Bandages, compresses, medicines… The LPO animal care center in Audenge (Gironde) is perfectly equipped to treat the wild animals that it takes in each year. But he wants to take a new step, and equip himself with his own surgery room, by September.
To collect the 35,000 euros needed, the health center has just launched an appeal for donations, on HelloAsso.
"We were lucky to be able to recruit a veterinarian in February capable of operating on site, but we are now lacking this equipment," explains Noriane Rhouy, head of the Audenge center.
For the moment, we are dependent on veterinary clinics who want to perform free acts for the health center, but they are still half an hour away.
This generates stress for the animal, due to its transport to the clinic and the contact it may have with domestic animals on site ... Our goal is therefore to be able to operate directly on site.
"
Washing table for oiled birds
The LPO Aquitaine care center takes in more than 4,000 animals per year, with a proportion of 71% birds, 28% mammals and 1% reptiles / amphibians. Of these, nearly a third arrive due to trauma, requiring extensive examinations and surgeries. "We have a lot of birds of prey which arrive with open fractures, hedgehogs which are caught in fences or which pass under the mowers, and deer with broken legs after collisions" lists Noriane Rhouy.
On arrival, the animal is taken to the infirmary, where a full diagnosis is made.
“We have a brooder for animals that need special attention, and we also have a quarantine room to separate animals that have contagious diseases.
We also have a washing table for oiled birds, during oil spills or wild degassing.
There are always some leftovers lying around a bit, which the birds cannot always avoid.
Finally, we have boxes specially equipped for seals, because we can collect five or six from December to February.
The center also benefits from various aviaries, in particular to re-educate bats.
"Wild animals that must stay wild"
Most of the cages are masked, to avoid stressing the animals, “but also to prevent them from seeing us all day, because these are wild animals that must remain wild, and therefore must always be afraid of humans, and not to associate food with humans ”insists the person in charge of the center. The animals are kept between one week and six months, depending on their trauma.
In 2020, some 4,073 animals were collected at the treatment center. A figure down 17% compared to 2019, the health crisis having forced the center to suspend reception for several months. “With the first confinement, which was very strict, there were fewer road accidents, but more garden accidents with mowers and hedge trimmers, notes Noriane Rhouy. In addition, people have tended to keep animals at home, which has done a lot of work on deconfinement, because we have had massive arrivals of animals with very old pathologies. Some had to be kept for several months before they detached themselves from the man. "
Established for twenty years in Audenge, the LPO care center covers the whole of Gironde, but also Dordogne and Lot-et-Garonne.
Being one of the only French centers to welcome large mammals, it is not uncommon for individuals to travel several hours to drop off injured fox, deer or otter ...
Economy
Coronavirus: The pet market benefits from the crisis
Planet
Occitanie: The presence of a new wolf has been identified between the Tarn and the Hérault
Aquitaine
Arcachon
Bordeaux
Animals
LPO
Planet