New guide published to improve wildlife care standards in Finland

Many wild animals in Finland are not receiving necessary care, leading some to die due to a lack of caregivers. A qualified individual must handle wild animals, and much of this effort relies on skilled volunteers. Efforts are being made to improve care standards by increasing oversight; since early this year, proper authorities must be notified about the treatment of wild animals.

To assist caregivers, a new wildlife care guide has been published today, consolidating essential information on the subject. The guide was developed by the Animal Welfare Association of Finland (SEY) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, the Food Authority, the Animal Welfare Center, and Korkeasaari Zoo. The ministry also funded the initiative.

According to Finnish animal welfare law, assistance should be provided to distressed wild animals. Finnish citizens typically seek care for birds and small mammals like hares and squirrels, while reptiles, amphibians, and fish are less frequently treated.

Kati White, the Executive Director of SEY, emphasized in a recent interview that well-meaning individuals often forget that wild animals do not react like domestic pets. Instead, they may experience significant stress when encountering humans, often perceiving them as predators. Therefore, unnecessary handling should be avoided. For example, an abandoned young animal should be left alone and monitored from a distance.

The guide stresses that animals that will not benefit from treatment should not be taken in. Sometimes, the best assistance is to relieve a severely injured animal from its suffering. To ascertain the need for help, reaching out to experts, like animal welfare advisors or wildlife rehabilitation centers, is encouraged.

In Finland, wildlife care is typically temporary, aiming to return healthy animals to their natural habitat post-treatment, a practice that occurs more frequently in Finland than in other countries. However, there are concerns regarding the criteria for admitting animals to care and the condition in which they are released back into the wild.