"Nice in theory, impossible in practice"
Many people think helping wild animals is a good idea but can't actually be done. In fact, a lot is already being done.
Some kinds of help that already exist
- Vaccination: there are many examples of large-scale vaccination of wild animals, for instance against rabies, with good results.
- Treating diseases: probiotics have been used to treat wombats (an Australian marsupial) for mange, fish for infections, frogs for fungi, and bats for a disease called white-nose syndrome. For the bats, survival went up from 8% to 46%.
- Help during fires and disasters: rescuing animals from wildfires and floods.
- Caring for orphaned babies.
- Rescuing trapped or injured animals.
Why this matters
These examples show that helping animals in the wild is possible and can work. They also help us learn what works and what doesn't, so that help can keep growing and getting safer.
In short
- Vaccinations, treatments, rescues, and care for orphans already exist.
- Some treatments have greatly increased animals' survival.
- These examples show that helping is possible.