YOUNGSVILLE, La. — Wildlife rehabiltators in Louisiana fear that a concurrent resolution pending in the House could be harmful to animals and people.
HCR 6, a Louisiana House Concurrent Resolution that was proposed this week during the regular session, aims to modify regulations within the Louisiana Wildlife Rehabilitation Program. If you want to read the HCR for yourself, scroll down.
According to the resolution:"The current permit process for the Wildlife Rehabilitation Permit 9 Program is overly burdensome, making it too difficult to become a permitted rehabilitator."
In that bill, it also states it can lead to a shortage of rehabbers and with a shortage or permitted rehabbers can burden the current rehabilitators past capacity with animals.
But opponents say that the proposed changes would require only an online course, would eliminate the current requirement of a veterinary partnership in the rehabbing process, and do away with "spot" inspections on properties that hold wildlife.
A Lafayette Parish rehabber, Leitia Labbie, has run Acadiana Wildlife since 1998. She says the changes to the regulations are just going to make it easier to become a permitted animal rehabber when it shouldn’t be.
“When we are working with wild animals, we have to have hands-on training and we have to have skills otherwise anybody in the public who wants to get a permit with no skill or training will be able to get a permit through this watered down version," Labbie says.
"Then people are going to start rehabbing animals inside their house, they are are going to imprint on these animals. They are going to make pets with these animals and then even if they do try to release those animals, they will not be prepare for life in the wild," she says. "Animal rehabbers have to have cages that allow them to climb, they have to tree branches in there, where they learn how to climb a tree, if you just take a baby you think is ready to be released and release it, you are basically sending it off for a death sentence."
Labbie tells KATC she and other permitted and professional rehabilitators will continue to advocate for these proposed changes to not be made and that those who feel these changes be made, to just continue to hear from experts in the wildlife field.
Click here to read more about the bill and click here to read more about the petition started by rehabbers in the state.
Here's the bill:
