Fur and
Feathers rescues and rehabilitates any wild animal, exotic animal,
or reptile in need of help.
Although there are several rehabilitation facilities in New Mexico,
Fur and Feathers is one of the very few that train volunteers to go
into the field and rescue. Working with many animal control agencies
and municipalities, Fur and Feathers respond to any call involving
wild animals, provides first aid, and stabilizes the animals for
transport to the rehab facility.
Fur and Feathers offers a free
training academy to volunteers that enable them to safely and
humanely pick up and handle wild animals. The academy is funded by
grants and allocations from city governments. See below.
Fur
and Feathers also conducts numerous educational
programs designed to promote animal appreciation and understanding.
The programs are given at the rehab facility or at schools,
churches, scouting functions, fairs and community activities. The
programs are presented free of charge and are generally geared
toward children. There are several non-releasable animals that are
housed full time at the facility and are used in these programs. In
2004, Fur and Feathers sponsored the first New Mexico snake
awareness day. This activity brought together reptile experts from
throughout the state to educate the public about these misunderstood
reptiles. Over 250 people attended this event. The organization also
sponsors a program called “Habitat Understanding.” We certainly do not encourage anyone to keep
any wild animal as a pet, but we understand that many young children
pick up lizards and snakes and take them home. Many of these
creatures die because the kids don’t know how to care for them. The
Habitat Understanding program encourages youngsters that capture
these crawly creatures to bring their parents to the facility where
we will help them build a proper habitat for their new pet. We teach
the family how to feed and care for their animal. We give
instruction on danger signs and problem identification. We then give
the new habitat to the child and try to get him or her to agree to
let the creature go free when school starts.
Some of our educational
animals.
 |
“Blacky”
Raccoon
“
Chatters” Ringtailed Cat |
“Smokey Joe & Paco”
Domestic
Skunks
“Midget” Bennett’s Wallaby
“Duck”
Duck
“Button” Hognosed Skunk
“Sunshine”
Miniature
Horse
“Atom”
Miniature
Horse |
Snake
Awareness
Each year, Fur and Feathers
sponsors a Snake awareness day. On this day, snake experts from
around the state are brought together to display snakes, and
educate the public about these misunderstood little creatures. This
expo is provided free of charge.
Local Area Snakes
 
Western Coachwhip
Garter Snake
 
Corn
Snake
Bull Snake
 
Western
Diamondback
Prairie Rattlesnake
Rattlesnake
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Fur
and Feathers is perhaps the only private organization in New Mexico
that specializes in in-the-field animal rescue. Each year many
injured and abandoned animals perish because no one wants to pick
them up and deliver them to a rehab center. This is understandable
because handling wild animals can be very dangerous.
Fur and Feathers has
recognized the need for in-the-field animal rescue and the dangers
involved and has responded to this need by establishing a
comprehensive training program. The curriculum for this training
academy was carefully evaluated by both experts in the area of
animal handling, veterinarians, and the company board of directors.
The classes offered were selected to provide a complete over-view of
hazards and dangers to both the animals and the rescuers.
The academy consists of 20
hours of classroom training and several field exercises. Tests are
administered for each class. Students learn about zoonotic diseases,
animal capture, animal first aid, and transport protocols. Each
class is limited to 10-12 students and each student is issued a
complete set of state of the art rescue tools. The academy is free
to students and the equipment is paid for through grants.
Upon completion of the
training, the students are certified by the board of directors as
rescue specialists. Fur and Feathers only uses certified personnel
for in-the-field rescues.
Fur and Feathers Rescue academy consists
of 20 hours of classroom instruction. Each student is provided
state-of-the-art rescue equipment.
 
Students
also participate in
several field training exercises,
including the rescue of rattlesnakes.
 
Students learn to calm and
stabilize a variety of wild animals.
If you have questions about Fur and Feathers
Rescue …… Drop us an e-mail
.
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