Anaheim Care Center for Sick, Hurt Wildlife Will Close on April 15

The only wildlife rehabilitation center licensed to care for injured or sick animals in Orange County will be closed April 15, a program official said Saturday.

Thomas Alan Kurtz, superintendent of the North Orange County Regional Occupational Program (ROP) that operates the animal care facility in Anaheim, said the center, which costs $160,000 a year, is being phased out because of state funding cutbacks.

“Everyone is disappointed because this is a good facility that provides quality care for animals that are sick or injured,” Kurtz said. “But that is the secondary purpose. Its primary purpose is educational. We could no longer justify its operation on that basis.”

Greg Hickman, who has run the animal care facility for the last 15 years, was described by Kurtz as being “very disappointed.”

Hickman could not be reached for comment Saturday.

North Orange County ROP is a joint vocational education effort by five school districts--the Anaheim and Fullerton union high school districts and the Brea-Olinda, Los Alamitos and Placentia unified school districts.

26,000 Students

The program’s 200 instructors teach about 26,000 students yearly, Kurtz said, with an annual budget of $13 million, about $11 million of which comes from the state.

Because of state funding cutbacks, Kurtz said he is attempting to eliminate $300,000 from the budget. In addition to the animal care facility, other programs that are targeted for elimination are electronics and nursery landscaping.

But Kurtz said the elimination of the animal care program probably will cause the most controversy because it is the only place in the county where wild birds and mammals can be treated for wounds or sickness and returned to their native habitats.

The wildlife rehabilitation center is in a two-acre compound on La Palma Avenue in Anaheim and is licensed by the state Department of Fish and Game. It cares for all species of wildlife, including bears and mountain lions.

In the last 15 years, more than 30,000 animals have been treated at the facility. Approximately half of those animals were brought back to health and returned to the wild.

Shrinking Budget

Although the facility has been successful in treating injured animals, Kurtz said the program can no longer be justified on educational grounds because of a shrinking budget, declining student enrollment and limited job opportunities in the field of wildlife animal care.

“Our primary purpose is to train high school students over age 16 and adults so they can get jobs caring for animals,” Kurtz said, adding that only 12 students are enrolled per class although the program is budgeted for 20 students.

“Labor market studies show that there are plenty of jobs in the domestic animal care field, taking care of dogs, cats and smaller animals,” Kurtz said. “But the problem with the program is that it deals with exotic animals, like monkeys, or wildlife that has been injured, like coyotes.

“But with this kind of training you can only get some of the limited number of jobs working in zoos or for entertainment facilities that have these kinds of exotic animals,” he said.

Kurtz said that he delayed closing the animal care facility until April 15 so that the animals now there could be transferred elsewhere. He said that he has talked with officials of the state Department of Fish and Game and private zoos about helping relocate the animals.