Building Animal Welfare Centers of Excellence
The Beijing Raptor Rescue Center (BRRC) follows clear management
protocols – developed by Center staff in collaboration with Barbara Callahan of
the International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC), a California-based IFAW
partner organization -- that specify high-quality procedures to ensure the
safety and biological and psychological needs of animals during rescue,
rehabilitation, release, euthanasia, and foster care.
IFAW provided the Center with initial funding and guidance on building design,
animal care procedures, and animal welfare protocols.
Center staff received training on-site from IBRRC raptor experts and a delegation from the BRRC also traveled to California for extensive training at the IBRRC center and UC Davis.
As a local project, the Center is now seeking operating funds from corporations and foundations in China.
Promoting Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in China
Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation is both a new concept and a new practice in China. In recent years, relevant Chinese authorities, including the Wildlife Conservation Department of the Beijing Forestry Bureau and the Chinese customs office, have taken stricter legal measures to curb wild bird trafficking and trade.
However, due to a lack of basic knowledge, experience, and basic animal welfare knowledge, not a single wildlife rescue group and rehabilitation facility met minimal animal welfare standards -- until the establishment of the IFAW-supported Beijing Raptor Rescue Center.
The Beijing Forestry Bureau has decided to amend its guidelines for issuing permits to wildlife rescue centers in Beijing so that new operations will have to meet the high standards set by the BRRC.
"Centers of excellence" such as the BRRC and the Beijing Man and Animal Environment Education Center (the companion animal shelter IFAW supports in China), enable IFAW and our partners to translate the concept of animal welfare into concrete projects, especially in nations in which this concept is unfamiliar.
Center staff received training on-site from IBRRC raptor experts and a delegation from the BRRC also traveled to California for extensive training at the IBRRC center and UC Davis.
As a local project, the Center is now seeking operating funds from corporations and foundations in China.
Promoting Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation in China
Wildlife rescue and rehabilitation is both a new concept and a new practice in China. In recent years, relevant Chinese authorities, including the Wildlife Conservation Department of the Beijing Forestry Bureau and the Chinese customs office, have taken stricter legal measures to curb wild bird trafficking and trade.
However, due to a lack of basic knowledge, experience, and basic animal welfare knowledge, not a single wildlife rescue group and rehabilitation facility met minimal animal welfare standards -- until the establishment of the IFAW-supported Beijing Raptor Rescue Center.
The Beijing Forestry Bureau has decided to amend its guidelines for issuing permits to wildlife rescue centers in Beijing so that new operations will have to meet the high standards set by the BRRC.
"Centers of excellence" such as the BRRC and the Beijing Man and Animal Environment Education Center (the companion animal shelter IFAW supports in China), enable IFAW and our partners to translate the concept of animal welfare into concrete projects, especially in nations in which this concept is unfamiliar.
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Professor Wong of Beijing Normal University calls to a little owl on its perch at the Beijing Raptor Rescue Center. Photo © IFAW/B. Callahan
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This Eurasian eagle owl is safe in the care of the Beijing Raptor Rescue Center. Photo © IFAW/B. Callahan
