Thank you for your interest in the PAWS Wildlife Department's wildlife release site program. The PAWS Wildlife Department is the largest wildlife rehabilitation organization in the Pacific Northwest, receiving over 4,500 injured, ill or orphaned wild animals each year. PAWS' goal for all wildlife is to restore them to full health or raise them until they are old enough to fend for themselves and then release them back to the wild.

There are many challenging aspects to PAWS' work. The injuries wild animals suffer are often severe and require extensive veterinary care. Orphaned animals require special diets and proper stimulation to ensure that they grow and develop as they would in the wild. All of the animals in PAWS' care also require isolation during their stay to ensure that they do not become habituated to humans. The rehabilitation process for an individual animal may take anywhere from a few days to several months. The end result of this process is a healthy animal ready to return to its natural habitat.

Each of the nearly 200 species of wildlife PAWS receive has its own unique habitat requirements that must be met in order for it to survive after release. With the rapid pace of development in Western Washington, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find accessible, appropriate natural areas to use as release sites for PAWS' rehabilitated patients. Many of these animals simply need a place to get started, an area with suitable cover and resources where they can readjust to life in the wild before dispersing. Others need an area to call home, a place where they will establish a territory and become a functioning member of the local population. In either case, your property may help fulfill this need.

If you would like to allow PAWS to use your property, you must first fill out an application. The application asks for specific information about the property you may wish to allow PAWS to use as a release site. The application was designed so that this information can easily be entered into our computer "Release Site Database". Your information is confidential and will only be used to aid in the assessment of potential release sites. Please complete the application as thoroughly as possible. Once your application has been received, a confirmation letter will be sent to you.

The release is the final step in the process for the thousands of wild animals rehabilitated by PAWS each year. Without suitable release sites, all of PAWS' efforts would be in vain. Through the generosity of caring individuals such as yourself, PAWS can ensure that all of these animals will have the best possible chance for survival when they return to the wild. If you have any questions or concerns feel free to call Kevin Mack at 425-787-2500 ext. 854.

Please fill out an online application if you are interested in offering your property as a release site.