Coulee Region Humane Society needs help building raptor shelter

Birds need adequate housing on site

The big birds need the public’s help at the Coulee Region Humane Society.

A fundraising effort is underway there to install mews – or specialized housing – for the birds, such as eagles, falcons and hawks.

The shelter needs $6,000 to get these large birds adequate housing. You can donate here.

Birds that are sick or injured frequently come into the shelter, but because of the lack of space, they’re often transferred to other rehab facilities. The shelter currently houses birds temporarily in flight cages set up in the garage or, if they’re small enough, cat kennels.

Samantha Luhmann with the shelter says they currently have to transfer many of the rescues that are admitted because they don’t have a permanent place to keep them.

Luhmann says that because raptors must be released back into the wild near the recovery spot, employees have to travel to rehab centers hours away to pick them up.

The shelter wrote this on their donation page:

The Coulee Region Humane Society Animal Control, Protection and Rescue department cares for more than 1,000 wild animals each year. From squirrels to ducklings, to bats and fawns, there are always injured wildlife in need at our shelter.

One of the more common wild animals we care for are raptors, particularly hawks, falcons and eagles; the Coulee Region is known for its immense amount of bird species that dwell among the bluff. 

But we need proper lodging in order to adequately care for the many injured raptors in need.

We need your help to raise $6,000 to build three mews; specialized housing for raptors. It is very difficult and sometimes impossible for us to rehabilitate and work with injured raptors without mews. 

Raptors regularly arrive at our shelter for treatment and recovery when injured. Our department is the only certified wildlife rehabilitator in the county.

Because Animal Control, Protection and Rescue works alongside of the Coulee Region Humane Society, its resources are often shared. And unfortunately we have limited space and supplies for wild animals.

Currently, the raptors that arrive at our shelter in need are housed inside of cat kennels. If the recovery time is long, a temporary/collapsible flight cage is installed inside of the humane society’s garage. 

Due to insufficient lodging, raptors are oftentimes transferred to other rehab centers hours away. And because raptors must also be released back into the same area upon recovery, we have to go back to the rehab centers, pick them up once again, and transport them back to the shelter for release when ready. Not only can this be very time consuming and expensive, but it is also very stressful for the birds. 

By building our very own mews, we would be able to better care for the raptors and rehabilitate even more hawks, falcons, eagles, etc. Below is an example of the kind of mews we would like to build in the back of the humane society.