Birds, small mammals, reptiles. Lot, P.O. and Tarn: three projects, winners of the participatory budget of the Occitanie region, will benefit from significant financial assistance from the community to make them happen. And meet a real need.
Animals, people, same fight. They are affected by the same breed, medical deserts. in Lot and Tarn-et-Garonne; Pyrénées-Orientales or even in Tarn, three associations are implementing projects to meet the significant demand for care in Occitania, the region with the fewest care centers. These three associations are winners of the participatory budget of the Occitanie region and as such will receive considerable help for the implementation of their project.
Injured birds, small mammals in poor condition… Thousands of living creatures die, sometimes due to carelessness. The fact remains that, as with humans, a simple health center is expensive. Sometimes up to €200,000 in investments and €50,000 to €100,000 for paying salaries to a few permanent employees. Not forgetting to recruit and retain volunteers. In short, a challenge.
Occitania, the region with the fewest rescue centers in France, where it is very difficult to take care of an animal in distress”
Alexandre Mazières, from the association La Belette
The Occitanie region has decided to help create three care centers through its participatory budgeting. These three centers are not “not in competition but in cooperation”, as confirmed by Alexandre Mazières. Natural history officer and treasurer of the La Belette association. For this environmental engineer, this kind of project is above all a merit of the personality of those involved in it. This is the case “Gabriele Bertrand, wildlife capacity manager, who has capitalized on extensive experience, in France and abroad”.
In certain corners of Occitania, in the region where there are the fewest rescue centers in France, it is very difficult to take care of an animal in distress”, underlines Alexandre Mazières. “I am originally from the Dordogne, and Gabriele Bertrand is from the Gironde.” to illustrate the fact that they have decided to settle in Occitania to build this reserve center probably by the end of 2024.. “To fill this gap, we located in Montcuq-en-Quercy-Blanc (Lot). 95% of the association’s budget is financed by donations from individuals. We requested €56,000 from the Occitanie Region, but we have not received it yet; it would be a good breath of fresh air for us”.
1,500 animals will be treated annually at cruise speed
The center will accommodate reptiles, birds (two-thirds of emergency cases), amphibians, small mammals (one-third). as envisioned by La Belette, construction would cost around 200,000 euros. And at least one employee. “We will quickly reach a thousand animals treated in the first year, which is consistent: we will expand to two whole departments. If we follow the trend of reserve centers in France, attendance is growing very quickly; we will quickly reach 1,500 treated animals per year. The goal is to reach two or even three employees.” For this, this association would welcome subsidies from the departments of Lot and Lot-et-Garonne.
“Although we do not yet operate as a care center, we do offer a wildlife “intervention” service: a hotline to respond to people who find a sick animal. We give them advice and can also take care of repatriating the animal to facilities that are already open.” And you have to go far, sometimes to the veterinary school in… Toulouse itself “if we rely on a network of partner veterinary clinics to which we can send individuals”.
IN HALF. The opening is expected in 2025
An identical care center is being developed in the Pyrénées-Orientales, through the association La Charbonnière. “If everything goes well, we will sign a long-term lease in the city of Saint-Jean-pla-de-Corts. We hope to open in 2025., explains Marc Delabre, a former ONF member who needs to find a lot of money: €200,000 to €250,000 to create it. And €150,000 to €200,000 per year for operations, including the salaries of two or even three full-time people; one for care, another for managing phone calls, etc. And, obviously, the center has a critical need for volunteers and civil services. And there, sick or injured bird fauna and small mammals would benefit from care. “If we can, we will also deal with reptiles and amphibians,” specifies Marc Delabre. “We want to start small and rely on the surrounding centers. Then, grow little by little.”
Rescue center for 2000 animals
Today, injured animals are forced to go to the LPO center in Villeveyrac (Hérault), which has serious funding problems and has even been closed since April 1st. And here the coaches are obliged to go to Toulouse. This context further justifies the creation of a center in P.-O. Marc Delabre, who is a member of the Roussillon Ornithological Group, says he wants to “request approval for the treatment of around 2,000 animals per year”. Originally, “The LPO actually asked us in the Ornithological Group to return the injured animals to Villeveyrac. Little by little, we structured a platform that now enables the care of injured animals in P.-O. where he recorded the needs especially for birds (90%) and small mammals (8%). In 2023, we recovered 3,000 animals…”
In the vicinity of Albi, requests for care from the opening of a zoo that does not have this task
15 minutes from Albi (Tarn), in Terre-de-Bancalié, Delphine Valéro also carries out a project similar to the other two, and he is the winner of the participatory budget of the Occitanie region. And therefore it will enable the establishment of a center for the care of wild animals. “We plan to take care of birds, mammals and reptiles there. Among mammals, it will be animals weighing less than 10 kilograms, until other infrastructures are developed in the future. There was a real need for support in our territory,” she confides.
It all started eight years ago. The future center was preceded by the Exoticamis zoo, “shelter that represents only animals created by donations, abandonments, placements or confiscations. This facility was opened in 2016, and its manager very quickly faced the problem of individuals who regularly contacted him because of found injured animals. However, zoological parks do not have this task. That’s where this idea of a wildlife care center was born.” explains Delphine Valéro, herself an animal caretaker at the Zoological Space.
“In 2021, we started talking about this topic. I agreed to take over management after the opening.” The association, currently completely voluntary, which supervises it, has existed since 2022. “Since then we have been working to find grants to be able to create this and make it work. We asked the Occitanie region for 20,000 euros.” vsThe center would mobilize investments between 100,000 and 150,000 euros. And for functioning, with a minimum employee, one workplace, at least €50,000 more.
Olivier SCHLAMA