The Owl Foundation
is a registered Canadian charitable organization that helps
wild Canadian owls and other raptors that are injured or orphaned. The Foundation
operates a rehabilitation centre located in the Niagara Peninsula,
Ontario, Canada.
We help owls and other raptors that
are injured, diseased or starving, to get back to a condition where
they can survive on their own and can be released. Some owls with
permanent disabilities that are otherwise healthy are kept and used
as foster parents, raising orphaned owl chicks in natural-type enclosures.
Once old enough, these young birds learn to hunt live prey while
still in captivity. The young owls are released when they are able
to survive on their own. Where suitable pairs can be formed among
the owls with permanent disabilities, the birds are given the opportunity
and conditions to breed and raise their own young, which are later
released. We provide spacious outdoor enclosures for the owls, permitting
flight over a distance and providing a variety of perches and degrees
of cover.
We receive many injured
and orphaned raptors each year. Injuries are most often the result
of being hit by vehicles and occur predominently when owls are hunting
near roads. Volunteer drivers transport birds to the Foundation.
Our staff work closely with a number of veterinarians to provide
treatment to owls in distress.
We have experience
with all Canadian owl species. Many of these are represented among
the permanent residents, including migratory species and those that
breed in the far north. When owls of northern species are released,
they are shipped by air to volunteers in suitable northern locations
for release. All other species are released within a reasonable
distance of where they were recovered.
The Owl Foundation
has a few full-time and part-time staff, but also relies on volunteer effort in many ways.
Most of the Foundation's funding comes from individuals, with some
from corporations and granting foundations.
The Owl Foundation
was founded by Kay and Larry McKeever in the 1970's. They
received awards and honorary degrees for their work. Originally
The Owl Foundation was an Ontario corporation and was
called the Owl Rehabilitation Research Foundation. It was re-incorporated
in 1994 under federal law as a Canadian corporation with the current name.
You can contact The Owl Foundation by mail at:
The Owl Foundation
4117 21st Street
R.R.1
Vineland Station, ON. CA
L0R 2E0
Or by email at:
owlmail@sympatico.ca
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