The Wildlife Rescue Center of Ostend (VOC Oostende)

The Wildlife Rescue Center of Ostend (VOC Oostende) is an independent non-profit organization that is part of a national chain of hospitals under Bird protection Flanders. The center has been founded in 1984, first to take care of the many oiled birds that came ashore. Through the years more animal species were treated in the rescue center with a broader variety of problems. In the last two years we get around 5000 patients each year, most of them due to human activities (e.g. oil, traffic, birds taken by a cat, birds that flew against a window, ...). Our main goal is the rehabilitation of wildlife so we can release them back into nature with the best chances of survival. By doing this we also try to educate the public. For a lot of people a bird they find is their first contact with nature and we try to make that a starting point for more interest. The center organizes public activities about nature and bird protection to inform the local people about the current problems that nature is facing and how they can help them themselves. Next to that, we also support scientific research of several institutes by collecting data from our patients. In our center, we work with 7 staff members (5 full time and 2 part time) and more than 100 volunteers, for tasks such as administration, transport of wounded animals, animal care and organizing events, and counts more than 1000 members. Since 1999 we participate in the ESC-project and received since then over 80 ESC-volunteers, mostly long terms but also volunteers that help for a couple of months. This project is a great opportunity for volunteers to experience how an actual wildlife rescue center operates. The work is very diverse. Each season brings different types of patients, so it always stays exciting to see which animal is brought in next. The volunteers get the possibility to work closely with wildlife which brings a lot of satisfaction. In this way, as an organization, we can offer very valuable and useful work, which benefits both the animals and humans. The ultimate reward is when an animal can be fully recovered and as a consequence can be released back into nature