Wildlife Rehabilitation Facing New Challenges

As we look ahead to 2025, Lindsay Wildlife Experience is bracing for an unprecedented challenge to our Wildlife Rehabilitation Hospital and homecare operations: new regulations for wildlife rehabilitation in California. Beginning in spring 2025, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife will implement stricter requirements for wildlife enclosures. While we already meet the current standards set by the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA), these new state requirements are considerably more demanding.

These changes mandate significant increases in the size, materials, and number of enclosures we use, potentially more than tripling the size of some rehabilitation spaces. At this point, we are working diligently to identify gaps in our current capabilities relative to the new guidelines and to assess the financial requirements needed to address them.

Our team, led by Lindsay’s commitment to animal welfare, is working hard to address these new standards. However, adapting to these regulations in such a short timeframe poses unique challenges for us.

What’s Changing and Why

For over 20 years, California’s wildlife rehabilitation standards have seen little update, leaving much to the discretion of individual rehab centers. While we support the need for modernized standards, these sudden changes will require considerable adjustments to our operations.

Potential Impacts

These changes could drastically impact our ability to care for wildlife. Without immediate expansion, we may face:

  • Limited space could mean turning away animals.
  • Some of our home-care volunteers may be unable to meet the new requirements due to space or financial constraints.
  • If we’re unable to meet the growing needs of wildlife in our community, we risk damaging our public image and losing the donations we depend on to continue our lifesaving work.

Industry Response

Many organizations are working hard to meet these new demands. Larger wildlife centers are building new facilities, while smaller, home-based rehab centers may face closure or limitations on their intake capacities. Some larger centers already have the infrastructure needed and only require modifications, while others like ours are navigating this sudden shift with limited resources.

Our Path Forward

Without substantial financial support, additional space, or adjustments to the proposed regulations, maintaining our current level of rehabilitation will be challenging. We remain committed to providing the best care for our wildlife patients and will explore all options to adapt, but we need our community’s support more than ever.

Thank you for standing with us during this transition. Together, we can continue to protect and rehabilitate California’s wildlife. Stay tuned for updates on how you can help, and please consider donating to support our efforts as we work through this challenging time.

To learn more about CDFW’s regulation changes click HERE.