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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, May 13, 2016 | 6 Helping wildlife It's spring and while we marvel at the new life all around us, we often see a sick, injured or abandoned animal. When we do, some words from the wise: don't remove it from its natural habitat. It may not need assistance and you could do more harm trying to help, according to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. Some species leave their offspring alone during the day. Deer and cottontail rabbits spend much of the day away from their well-camou aged offspring to minimize the chance of predators nding them. To see if a young animal has been abandoned, check it periodically for 24 to 48 hours to see if it is still around. Keep your distance. Keep cats and dogs away as an adult animal may not return if it is noisy or dangerous. If in doubt, contact your local Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry of ce. You can visit ontario.ca/ mnrfof ces to contact your local district of ce. You can call the Natural Resources Information Centre at 1-800667-1940 from Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Check out its rescue a sick, injured or abandoned wild animal webpage or view a list of wildlife rehabilitators. To help know if it's time to step in for a rescue, know the signs of injury or illness. They include: blood, wounds or swelling on the body; a body that is covered in eas; unusual or uneven loss of fur or feathers; substantial hair loss or with visible ticks; dif cult or raspy breathing or sneezing; a dangling leg or wing; or closed eyes and head tucked under wing. If you do step in, know that you cannot keep wildlife in captivity without approval from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. However, a person may temporarily possess a wild animal for up to 24 hours to transport it to a wildlife rehabilitator or veterinarian. Your best bet is to contact a wildlife rehabilitator who can help you assess the situation and provide advice. Take care in handling any wild animal. If you must handle the animal, follow the instructions provided by the wildlife rehabilitator on how to minimize risk of injury to yourself and the animal. Wear protective clothing and equipment, such as leather gloves, to avoid bites or scratches, and wash hands after handling the animal. It is important to recognize many volunteer-operated wildlife rehabilitation organizations have limited capacity to accept animals, especially in the spring. To report dead animals, including birds or bats, contact the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative at www. cwhc-rcsf.ca, by email at on-nu@cwhc-rcsf.ca or by calling 1-866-673-4781. If you suspect there is a public health risk from a sick wild animal, such as rabies, or you or your pet had contact with a suspected rabid animal, contact your local Public Health Unit immediately. For more information, call ServiceOntario toll-free at 1-866-532-3161. If left untreated, rabies is fatal for humans and animals. Symptoms of rabies and several other diseases in animals can include tremors, aggressive behaviour, partial paralysis, convulsions, and loss of fear of humans. For more on wildlife, visit ontario.ca/wildlife. And as always, if residents nd an animal in distress, don't hesitate to call the Oakville & Milton Humane Society (OMHS) Emergency Service at the same number as the shelter -- 905-845-1551 -- it is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. -- with les from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry Editorial S T A N D I N G O N "Connected to your Community" C E R E M O N Y 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 54 | Number 39 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice ­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER KELLY MONTAGUE DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN From left, St. Mildred's-Lightborn Alumni President Stephanie Kennedy, Rev. Maria Nightingale, Ontario Lieutenant Governor Elizabeth Dowdeswell, Sister Anita, Head of School Dorothy Byers, and class of 1958 alumni Olwen Davies during the alumni luncheon held at the school last weekend as part of its 125th anniversary celebration. | photo by Nikki Wesley ­ Oakville Beaver (Follow on Twitter @halton_photog or facebook.com/HaltonPhotog) RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager LORI ANN GZOVDANOVIC Director of Production MARK DILLS Reader not comfortable with assisted dying The fact that Canada is about to pass a law which approves the desire of people wanting to die puts me in a state of dif culty and breathlessness. If we want to modernize Canada, we should nd a way to assist people to live, not to die. It is dif cult to take a liking to this law. Giuseppe Fava, Oakville Letters to the Editor MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Don't drain pools into trails and ravines, please Now that spring has sprung, many in Town are opening their pools. This usually includes pumping off the rain water and melted snow that's accumulated over the winter. For those backing onto trails and ravines, please be mindful of where you discharge that water. Not only is ooding our trails and green spaces discourteous to those who wish to use them, it's also bad for the environment, causing soil erosion and potential slope failure. And I hardly need mention the by-law violation (the ne is hefty). So, please be considerate, enjoy the summer, and remember this, too, when it comes time to close the pool. Bjorn Brown, Oakville Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Children over ve should not be penalized We feel it is a disgrace that the most vulnerable of our society are dropped from receiving Intensive Behavioural Intervention (IBI) for autism. This is discrimination. Our grandson has been on the waiting list for years, but turned ve last month. Now, the provincial government says his health no longer matters. The $8,000 is like a slap in the face. These children still have the capacity to learn after the age of ve. Because they were put on a waiting list instead of getting help years ago, they should not be penalized. It is inhuman to just kick these kids off the waiting list. The Liberal government should either reverse the decision or grandfather those children into the new program. Tom and Linda Jachymek, Proud Official Media Sponsor For: The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington ON L7L 5Z1 or via email to ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. 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