Tough Decision

by Nate Cirillo

As a senior with a Wildlife degree, I have spent the last 3 years hearing about all sorts of issues and arguments within my field. Many of the issues pull at peoples’ ethical codes, and that’s what makes these issues controversial. Euthanasia is one the controversial issues that I got firsthand experience this summer. I completed an internship at the Wildlife In Need Center, and euthanasia was something we had to deal with and be involved with everyday. There are basic guidelines to follow when determining whether or not an animal should be euthanized. For most bird species, a break near any of the joints in the wing is automatically a euthanasia candidate. Many other species need to be euthanized if they come in too under weight, or too young to be raised without their mother. Other injuries occur where the animal needs to be euthanized, but this follows a long exam where it is determined that the animal would be better off dead then to suffer out the rest of it’s’ life. The hardest part for me was seeing a young squirrel that made it in to the center for a second chance at life, but wouldn’t lead a healthy life due to its condition. I felt as though euthanasia at times seems like an easy escape route for wildlife rehabilitators, in order to save on man power as well as funding. This is where the ethical argument comes into play. A very important decision has to be made based on the animal’s condition. Is the animal going to recover completely and be releasable, or will predators have a better chance of catching the animal once it is released? Once released, will the animal help the overall population of the species? Most importantly, is the species an important endangered species or is it non-native to the area? Rare, endangered species are always difficult to decide upon a decision. Certain injuries require much more space, man power, and money in order to rehab that animal, and is the animal being worked on important enough to put the effort forth in getting that species back into a breeding population. Also, it is important as a wildlife rehabilitator to not get attached to any one specific animal, because it may turn out that you will have to euthanize that animal. In my personal experience, I found the two ways the Wildlife In Need Center euthanized animals to be very un-harmful and very ethical. One way was by injecting the euthanizing agents directly into the veins, and the other was a CO2 bucket. Both ways limited the harm done upon the animal, and also allowed them to peacefully pass. Everyone has different ethical codes to live by, and when working in a field such as captive wildlife, those ethics can be tested day in and day out. Ultimately, the decisions made, such as euthanasia, need to be made based on what is good for that individual animal as well as the whole species and not on ones’ personal ethical code.