Baby animals may be oulik to keep as pets, but the Cape of Good Hope SPCA Wildlife Department has warned that you may just be killing them with kindness.
With wild animals nursing their young through the summer season, some baby diertjies may get lost as parents go out hunting for food.
And you come across them, its best for them to be left alone - or better yet call the SPCA.
The Cape of Good Hope SPCA Wildlife Department says they are inundated with calls to rescue baby animals at this time of year.
The department responds to an average of 45 calls per week to collect stray and abandoned young animals of all species.
Their Wildlife Short-Term Care Centre located in Grassy Park is equipped to deal with these and our Wildlife Inspectors each undergo specialised training courses to be able to administer immediate care and help to the helpless.
Wildlife Department supervisor Jon Friedman says: “Owlets, squirrel kits, nestlings and fledgling birds, even mongoose pups and genet kits, are the types of animals we are most often called to come and fetch when people have botched trying to raise the animals themselves at home and need our help.”
“Wild animals are quite different to their domestic counterparts; their feeding requirements are specific to their species.
“They require certain nutrients in exact amounts at different times of the day in order to maintain normal growth. Feeding wild animals Pronutro cereal, oats, raw eggs, cooked meat, in most cases is going to spell the end for that animal in no time at all.”
“There is also the real risk that handling a wild animal, never mind the risk of being bitten or scratched by sharp teeth, beaks or claws, is going to habituate that animal to the presence of people, or worse.”
You could even find yourself in trouble with the law. In the Western Cape, a permit issued by the conservation authority CapeNature is required for the keeping of any wild animal.
Call the SPCA Wildlife Department immediately on 021 700 4158/4159 or after-hours, at weekends and on public holidays on 083 326 1604.
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