What does a wildlife rehabilitator do? Let’s start with the definition of wildlife rehabilitation. “Wildlife rehabilitation is the practice of legally caring for sick, injured, orphaned or displaced wildlife in order to release a physically healthy and psychologically sound animal back into the wild.”
In New York State, a special state license is required to legally conduct wildlife rehabilitation. To become one, there are a few qualifications outlined in the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) web site, including passing a written exam to test your knowledge in the field of wildlife rehabilitation.
Additional permits from federal agencies are needed to rehabilitate certain species, like migratory birds, birds of prey and all threatened and endangered species, such as bald eagles. Also, special permits are needed to handle animals that can transmit the rabies virus to humans, such as bats, skunks, and racoons.
Having a license does not make a rehabber a veterinarian, wildlife biologist, law enforcement agent or a nuisance animal control officer.
Rehabilitators are neither trained or licensed to diagnose and treat an animal’s ailment except under the direction of a veterinarian, which is why partnering with a veterinarian is crucial. Medical or surgical treatments must be performed by licensed veterinarians. You can think of rehabilitator’s role as someone who stabilizes the condition of an animals when they are brought in, and nurse the animals back to health based on a treatment plan prescribed by the veterinarian.
Wildlife rehabilitators are not permitted to charge a fee for taking care of wildlife. All the costs of wildlife care are born by the rehabilitator, which can get costly. However, rehabbers are allowed to accept donations. Many larger rehabilitation facilities often incorporate as 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations in order raise funds needed.
Another important role rehabbers play is to educate the public by serving as a resource for correct biological and legal information and to help expand the public’s environmental awareness for the future.
A non-releasable animal can become part of an organized educational, breeding or research effort. A separate license is required to possess wild animals for educational purposes.
The National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association (NWRA), based in Minnesota, exists to unify and promote the occupation at the national level.
At the state level, there is New York State Wildlife Rehabilitation Council, an organization that offers scholarships and grants to rehabilitators and assistants and hosts an annual conference.
In 2019, New York had 1,407 licensed wildlife rehabilitators, with 382 licenses issued that year, according to data shared by NYSDEC. Five years later, 2,072 people were registered, with 594 licenses issued that year. Another 499 licenses have been issued in 2025; 2,252 people are currently licensed.
Each year the Council’s members handle over 20,000 animals, with 50% of those successfully returned to the wild.
There are other related organizations such as U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service at the federal level and the NYSDEC at the state level. These agencies manage wildlife on a population scale and not with individuals. These organizations refer individual cases like injured animals to local wildlife rehabbers.
There is a list of state licensed wildlife rehabilitators on the NYSDEC web site searchable by county and type of animal. There is also a Web site and mobile app called Animal Help Now by a Colorado-based nonprofit, that connects people nationwide to rehabilitators.
Many animal injuries occur from collisions with vehicles. According to a report published by the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, the average number of animal-related vehicle accidents each year sits at around 300,000, which does not include accidents where the animal died or was injured but the car wasn’t impacted badly enough to justify an insurance filing. This figure is a very low estimate.
Whether it is injury or orphaned animals, there seems to be more demand for rescue and rehabilitation services than there are rehabbers. The work can be long, grueling, and costly for a role that is strictly on a volunteer basis. What wildlife rehabbers do is noble, crucial, and important for our future. It is the least we can do and the right thing to do.