Work in a rescue centre for animals that have suffered starvation and neglect, have lost their habitat, were confiscated as illegal pets, or have been injured and are now undergoing rehabilitation. The aims of the programme are to nurture and release the animals back into the wild as much as possible. There are also special breeding programmes of Tapirs, Spider Monkeys and Green and Scarlet Macaws. This is a fascinating front-line conservation programme that animal lovers are sure to enjoy and benefit from in so many ways.
The number of animals coming into the centre is increasing and help is needed every day to aid their recovery and eventual release back into the wild. The project also needs volunteers to help control the huge numbers of unwanted and abandoned pets in Costa Rica. Costa Rica's former solution to animal overpopulation was to poison the animals, but now a new sterilization program has put a stop to this terrible practice. Through low-cost sterilization programs and education about the importance of sterilization, Kaya hopes to decrease the numbers of abandoned animals.
As a Kaya volunteer you will be on the rescue and rehabilitation front line, helping to care for animals and re-introduce endangered wildlife to their natural habitat in areas where their species have been depleted. Volunteers assist with specialised breeding programmes to increase the numbers of endangered species and with sterilisation and education programmes to reduce the number of abandoned or unwanted domestic animals.
Volunteers of all educational backgrounds are welcome, and those with a background, skills or experience in veterinary medicine are most helpful. Volunteers must be eager to help in many ways, show compassion, have lots of energy, and love animals. Volunteers must also have the emotional maturity to accept that some animals may be too sick or injured to have a decent quality of life, and that euthanasia is necessary in these cases.
