ANIMA – Hellenic Wildlife Care Association is an association founded in 2005, by people with many years of experience in the care of wild animals in Greece, as well as by veterinarians, biologists, foresters and friends of nature and wildlife. It works with expert scientists who form the Scientific Committee of the organisation.
The main activity of ANIMA is the care and rehabilitation of wild animals in their natural environment. Given that in Greece there is no governmental body dealing with this subject, ANIMA, along with the other organizations involved in the care of wild animals, meets a basic need for the protection and conservation of wildlife in the country.
Taking in wild animals from all over Greece, it cares for over 7,000 birds, mammals and reptiles annually. Among these animals are many rare and endangered wild species.
ANIMA operates the Wildlife Care Centre in the municipality of Saronikos, which has been licensed by the no. ΕΠΕΝ/ΔΔΔ/54344/1692 decision of 17/5/2023 under Article 14 of the Joint Ministerial Decision (CMD) of the Deputy Ministers of Environment and Energy – Rural Development and Food (Government Gazette B 4744/8-9-2022).
ANIMA collaborates consistently with veterinarians, and its staff includes a permanent specialized veterinarian. X-rays, diagnostic examinations and surgical procedures are carried out in a fully equipped clinic. Head of the Scientific Committee of ANIMA is Dr. Anastasia Komninou, As. Professor of Exotic and Wild Animal Surgery & Medicine at the Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
The treatment is carried out by the experienced staff of ANIMA, who have received special training in managing and treating wild animals, with the assistance of trained volunteers. ANIMA’s staff includes veterinary assistants, biologists, forest protection specialists, etc.
Rehabilitating animals in the wild is a process as demanding as treating them or rearing them as chicks.
ANIMA has its own facilities, but also cooperates with other organisations for the rehabilitation of wild animals that have recovered. More specifically, it collaborates with Alkyoni (Wildlife Care Centre in Paros) for the accommodation of large waterfowl, such as pelicans and other species, for which Alkyoni has suitable accommodation facilities. The Attica Zoological Park also has areas with no public access for the accommodation of birds when the need arises.
For the rehabilitation of wild bird chicks, ANIMA has undertaken a series of initiatives that include:
In the final stage of the release, ANIMA collaborates with a variety of institutions for the release of wild animals in suitable habitats throughout Greece. Prior to the release of wild birds, whenever required and in cooperation with experts, it proceeds to:
ANIMA carries out rescues whenever required. The most common cases of rescues include:
ANIMA receives a large number of phone calls and messages every day. One of its main activities is to advise citizens and institutions on cases of injured/orphaned wild animals and it also undertakes the training of groups and institutions. In addition:
ANIMA supports organisations that wish to set up a first aid station in their area and cooperate with it.
ANIMA has carried out projects to create a national network of wildlife care volunteers.
ANIMA has a certified trainer for volunteers and volunteer groups in oil spill response, in organizing volunteer groups, assessing the condition of coasts, methods of cleaning coasts, as well as in capturing and providing first aid to oiled wildlife. The training was provided by the leading oil spill response institutions in Europe and the Mediterranean: REMPEC, Cedre and Sea Alarm.
ANIMA participates in the publication of Press Releases, in cooperation with other environmental NGOs, on issues related to the protection and conservation of nature and wildlife.
ANIMA actively participates in the realization of actions and the mobilization of institutions for the protection of wildlife. More specifically:
ANIMA has launched the project “Paratiro” (Observe) with the aim of collecting spatial data on the location of injured or dead animals in order to identify infrastructure or other factors that result in the direct killing or injury of wildlife. It hopes that in the future this data can be used to address threats at the local level.
The care of wild animals from all over Greece, which include over 160 different species of birds, mammals and reptiles/amphibians each year, provides many opportunities for collecting primary data/samples that would otherwise be very difficult to collect. Many of these species are protected by Greek and European legislation and/or are endangered.
Specifically, the research areas to which ANIMA contributes are:
ANIMA collaborates with scientific institutions and supports their research activities mainly through collecting and sending feather/tissue/blood samples for genetic analysis and pathogen research, and participating in the placement of transmitters, tags, rings on birds of interest, etc.
ANIMA has invested heavily in the field of scientific research into the causes of wildlife morbidity and mortality. It carries out a wide range of laboratory analyses and the emerging results are extremely interesting.
Since 2014, ANIMA has been implementing a citizen science project in which citizens collect data on incidents of injured and dead wildlife all over Greece. Through this project, important data on the causes of direct killing/injury of wild animals in Greece have been collected and are still being collected.
Η δραστηριότητά μας στηρίζεται στις συνδρομές των μελών και των υποστηρικτών μας, των πολιτών που βρίσκουν καθημερινά τραυματισμένα ή ανήμπορα ζώα καθώς και στις χορηγίες στο πλαίσιο της εταιρικής κοινωνικής ευθύνης.
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