Resumption of ZEW Services and the Mission to #keepwildlifeatWCVM

Today, vet students returned to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine to kick off the school year while the Zoo, Exotics, and Wildlife (ZEW) team resumed their important work in the Veterinary Medical Centre (VMC). While we are thankful the WCVM reversed their decision on the continued closure of wildlife services in the VMC, it is an important day to remember that the fight for wildlife medicine in the WCVM’s VMC is not over.

The WCVM continues to conduct their internal review of all VMC services, with wildlife as part of ZEW being one of them. This review will assess the service’s quality of training and sustainability of the working environment among other items. The planned completion date for this review is November 1st, 2026. With campus life waking up from summer vacation it is critical we reinvigorate our campaign to urge the WCVM to continue wildlife treatment.

Although VMC’s ZEW clinicians can resume practicing wildlife medicine for now, strong concerns remain that the WCVM may permanently remove wildlife from the program after completing its review. Unfortunately, wild animals do not come with an owner attached that pays for veterinary care. When assessing financial sustainability of the service, this can make wildlife medicine in the VMC an easy target for removal. Wildlife services, however, are an essential public service offered by the VMC. The WCVM as part of the University of Saskatchewan is a public institution that receives government funding. The government has a legal obligation to manage and protect species and habitats on Crown lands—maintaining wildlife medical services at the VMC is a critical piece in the protection of wild animals and ecosystems in Saskatchewan. Secure funding for wildlife should therefore be prioritized at the university to keep these essential public services operating, otherwise wildlife and the licensed rehabilitators of this province will suffer.

We urge you to continue sharing this petition and being loud about why wildlife services at the WCVM’s VMC are essential in Saskatchewan. Stakeholder meetings will be held in the fall with the committee conducting the review on wildlife services and your voices will be essential in convincing the university to #keepwildlifeatWCVM.

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Looking for other ways to help?

àSend an email to the Dr. Gillian Muir, Dean of the WCVM at gillian.muir@usask.ca telling her why wildlife services must continue permanently!
-->Write to your local MLA urging the government to allocate more funding towards wildlife medicine, rehabilitation, and conservation!
-->Share your thoughts in support of wildlife on social media and to the University of Saskatchewan administration!
-->Follow local accounts on social media that are working hard to spread the word on the urgency and necessity of wildlife medicine, rehabilitation, and conservation! For example, @becomingpigeonvet and @livingskywildliferehab based out of Saskatoon (home of the WCVM and VMC)
-->Donate to your local licensed wildlife rehabilitation facility

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Photo taken by Makayla Gemin