Bird Care Centre Upgrade

The Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) strives to be an independent, pioneering force in the protection and rehabilitation of orphaned, injured and otherwise displaced wildlife, while promoting the preservation of their habitat.

CROW is committed to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of orphaned, injured and otherwise displaced wildlife, and believes in action and education with regard to the protection of all natural resources.

They recognise and defend the right of wild animals to freedom, and therefore reject the notion of keeping or breeding them in captivity for the purposes of entertainment, education, medical research, product testing, hunting and any other endeavour that violates their right to freedom.

OVERVIEW

Crow is the only wildlife rehabilitation centre of its kind in KwaZulu-Natal and has seven depots throughout the province. Between 300 and 800 wild animals and birds are brought to them for help each month, and by far the largest number of admissions are birds.

CROW has a special rehabilitation centre for injured birds that are brought into them. These facilities currently house a variety of birds of different ages and stages of healing and hence with different rehabilitation needs. CROW would llike to upgrade and extend its current facilties and to better equip themselves to deal with the varying needs. This includes the set up of a separate care centre for baby birds, the ipgrade of the existing ICU room, the construction of six additional cages for their High Care quadrant, and the repair of eight cages in aviary enclosures for birds awaiting release. .

WHAT WE LIKE ABOUT THIS PROJECT

• This project will strategically improve the current bird care facilities by separating rehabilitation of baby and adult birds, as well as improving current ICU conditions to improve recovery, mortality and release statistics.
• The organisation has an education and awareness programme that provides a more holistic solution to their approach to provide rehabilitation and protection for all natural resources.

EXPECTED LIFE CHANGE

An investment of R 29, 550 will fund the set up of a separate baby bird rehabilitation room, the upgrade of the existing adult ICU room, the construction of six High Care quadrant cages, and the repair of eight cages in aviary enclosures for birds awaiting release. The upgraded Bird Care Centre will hold upto 250 birds at any single period, and will see upto 2,500 birds per year.

This is an expected life change of R 11.82 per bird per year.

NEED

By far the largest number of admissions at CROW are birds. These vary from baby doves being kicked out of a nest, to seabirds covered in oil, to large raptors hit by vehicles. As awareness of the centre has grown over the last decade, so has the number of admissions, but unfortunately funds have not been available to upgrade the bird care facilities which currently do not cater for the often specific needs of injured birds of varying maturity .

The general public and corporate donors prefer to adopt and fund enclosures for more enigmatic species such as primates and mammals, leaving, from a project specific grant perspective, facilities for the care of birds neglected.

ACTION PLAN

Preparation

The following have been completed: * Layout and renovation requirements confirmed. * List of equipment requirements and suppliers drawn-up. * Dedicated staff member employed to take ownership and responsibility for Bird Care. * Statistics report format adjusted to include more detail on bird admissions, mortalities and release successes.

Implementation

• Check if quotations are still valid and appropriate to budget
• Appoint contractors for building work and cage renovation
• Place orders for equipment with various suppliers
• Complete facility upgrade

Monitoring and Evaluation

The project will be overseen by the organisation MD, and will report on the following:

• Completion of facility upgrade
• Adult and juvenile bird mortality rates, especially that of baby birds, should show a considerable decrease.
• Recovery time of adult and juvenile birds in ICU
• Birds release rate

ORGANISATION ASSESSMENT

CROW is a well-established organisation with over 29 years experience in the rescue, rehabilitation and release of wildlife, admitting around 5,000 animals per year. They provide an important 24-hr service with ICU and incubator care.

CROW has a clear understanding of their resource needs in order for the organization to function optimally and deliver on their social mission. However, they currently function with no formal staff performance appraisals or job descriptions. The organisation has given attention to building up a capital fund over time and currently has financial reserves in place for up to 3 years. Despite the capital fund, the organisation is currently struggling to cover their extensive running costs related to the care for the large numbers of animals admitted.

The organisation has been reliant on one or two key individuals within the organisation for strategic direction and leadership, although they have recently appointed a new CEO within the organisation and are now focussing on succession planning.

RISK PROFILE - Low

Key Strengths

• Concept: The upgrade of the existing facilities will allow CROW to improve their capacity for providing rehabilitative treatment for adult and juvenile birds.

• Design: Juvenile and adult ICU rooms have been designed for greater function within the rooms. Besides building equipment, special apparatus that will improve the healing process will also be installed.

• Capability: The staff have previous experience of overseeing renovations in the existing building.

• Control: Strong monitoring systems enable the team to respond timeously to any challenges in implementation.

• Sustainability: The construction and upgrade of these facilities provides capital equipment which could be used for the duration of the organisation’s existence, which in theory is to perpetuity.

Key Risks - Low

• Design: CROW’s apparent inability to cover current operational expenses may mean that there will be issues with the maintenance of the new equipment. However, this is mitigated by the fact that the equipment used for the upgrade has been selected to minimize the need for repair.

• Sustainability: There is the potential for burn-out of staff members due to limited human resources and the emotional strain involved in this type of work. This potential is mitigated by the counselling provided to staff members. Another risk does not lie in the sustainability of the project itself, but potentially the sustainability of the organisation, which may impact on the implementation of the project. It is, however, unlikely that any challenges to the sustainability of the organisation would impact on the project within the implementation period.

• External: Unexpectedly high increases in the cost of material may hinder the completion of the project. While this cannot be adequately prepared for, it is also highly unlikely that inflation will result in increases that are beyond the organisation’s ability to absorb.