Webinar: Take a walk on the wild side with wildlife rehabilitators
Zoom
Event Details
Licensed wildlife rehabilitators (LWR) provide care for sick, injured, orphaned, and displaced wildlife, with a goal to return healthy animals back to the wild. Wild animals come in for care for numerous reasons and while LWRs can render triage care, they are limited in treating the causes of distress to wildlife. Whether radiographing for fractures, diagnosing diseases, prescribing medications, performing surgical repairs, or ending suffering, veterinary care is crucial to successful wildlife rehabilitation. Assisting LWRs offers unique opportunities for veterinarians – a chance to work with various species with different presentations, expanding your clinical skills and knowledge, while offering compassion for our native species who are in need.
Join us, take a walk on the wild side, and explore how you can help wild animals.
The webinar is a collaboration with the New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council.
Presenters:
Dr. Laura Jaworski, Board member, NY State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council
Dr. Sara E. Childs-Sanford, ACZM - Associate Professor, Section Chief of Wildlife Medicine, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine
Kelly Martin, President NY State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council
Learning points:
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Understand the Role of Licensed Wildlife Rehabilitators (LWRs): Learn what LWRs are permitted to do in caring for wildlife and why veterinary collaboration is essential in wildlife rehabilitation.
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Recognize the Veterinarian’s Critical Role in Wildlife Rehabilitation: Learn how veterinarians contribute to wildlife rehabilitation through diagnostics, treatment, surgical intervention, and euthanasia when appropriate.
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Discover the Clinical and Ethical Opportunities in Wildlife Care: Gain insight into the unique species, cases, resources and learning opportunities available to veterinarians who collaborate with LWRs—and how this work fosters both professional growth and compassion for native wildlife.
For More Information:
Kelly Martin
Kelly was one of the founding members of the Southern Tier Wildlife Center, Binghamton, NY. In addition to holding a License to Collect and Possess to hold live animals for education, she has been a state and federally licensed wildlife rehabilitator since 1981 and has served on the NYSWRC Board of Directors for nearly as long. Kelly works part time for the Edmund Niles Huyck Preserve as an education assistant in Rensselaerville, NY. She does live education programs as “Wildlife Alive.”
Laura Jaworski, DVM
Dr. Laura Jaworski grew up in Massachusetts and received her Bachelor's degree in Animal Science at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She graduated from Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine in 2013 and moved to New York to practice small animal medicine. Dr. Laura's volunteer work for wildlife rehabilitators deepened her interest in rehab and led to a special interest in birds of prey and orthopedics. She became a falconer in 2017, a NYS wildlife rehabilitator in 2019, and a federal wildlife rehabilitator in 2022.
Dr. Laura works with other rehabilitators, nature centers and falconers alike. In her free time, she enjoys participating in raptor education programs for the general public.
Dr. Sara Childs‑Sanford, DVM, MS, ACZM
Dr. Sara Childs‑Sanford, DVM, MS, ACZM, is a leading wildlife veterinarian and Associate Professor at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. She serves as Section Chief of Wildlife Medicine at the Janet L. Swanson Wildlife Hospital and is a Diplomate of the American College of Zoological Medicine.
Her educational journey includes a Bachelor’s degree from Hamilton College, a DVM from Cornell University (1999), and an MS in Animal and Avian Sciences from the University of Maryland (2005). She completed a residency in wildlife and zoological medicine at Cornell (2002–2005) and became board-certified in 2006.
Dr. Childs‑Sanford’s work centers on improving care and rehabilitation outcomes for wildlife. Her research focuses on nutrition-related diseases in captive non-domestic species and optimizing clinical protocols that help reduce hospitalization times and enhance release success. She also actively publishes in peer-reviewed journals on topics ranging from porcupine mange to trematode infections in owls.
In recognition of her contributions, she was honored in 2023 as Veterinarian of the Year by the New York State Wildlife Rehabilitator Council for her dedication to wildlife medicine collaboration and education.
[1]: https://www.vet.cornell.edu/research/faculty/sara-childs-sanford-dvm-ms?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Sara Childs-Sanford, DVM, MS, ACZM"
[2]: https://www.nyswrc.org/vet-of-the-year?utm_source=chatgpt.com "Vet of the Year — NY State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council Inc."
The New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council is a not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to the advancement of wildlife rehabilitation by:
· Promoting the professionalism of licensed wildlife rehabilitators
· Offering field support, mentoring, and educational services to licensed wildlife rehabilitators to appropriately care for distressed wildlife
· Providing timely information on latest techniques and husbandry
· Working with governmental agencies to formulate the best regulations and license conditions concerning wildlife
· Disseminating educational materials and information to the public about distressed wildlife
· Promoting conservation of wildlife, their habitats, and other natural resources
· Sponsoring an annual conference featuring wildlife experts: experienced wildlife rehabilitators, biologists, naturalists, technicians, and veterinarians
· Publishing a quarterly newsletter, Release · Maintaining the organization’s website, www.nyswrc.org, and social media sites