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Procyon Wildlife seeking volunteers ahead of baby season

February 14, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

If you like animals and have an interest in helping sick or injured wildlife, Procyon Wildlife is looking for volunteers to help with the upcoming baby season.

As spring approaches, it will be the season for new life in the forests. Unfortunately, animals can become injured, sick, or orphaned and require human intervention for their care.

You can help care for raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, porcupines, and many other animals that are brought to Procyon.

Spring is an especially busy time of year for Procyon Wildlife as animals are giving birth and becoming more active.

You don’t need much knowledge of animals; all training is provided.

Volunteers are typically scheduled for one five-hour shift per week, so volunteering doesn’t have to take up a lot of your time. Although some volunteers request more hours, as they really enjoy being around the animals.

“Officially, we start baby season on April 1, but we try to get all of our volunteers trained starting in March,” explained Debra Spilar, executive director of Procyon Wildlife. “That way, as the babies come in, volunteers have already been with us for a couple of weeks to get familiar with where everything is, to know how to follow our protocols, make formulas, and know all about or nurseries. We provide all the necessary training, all the equipment, and all the PPE.”

Once trained, volunteers will handle many different animals.

“We show them how to feed a baby raccoon, how to handle skunks without getting sprayed, we teach them all that stuff,” Debra explained. “We get all sorts of animals including raccoons, skunks, squirrels, foxes, coyotes, deer, and porcupines. We have five snakes that have come in and 25 bats, and they are still coming in. A lot of times the babies are orphaned. Sometimes the mother is out foraging for food and gets hit by a car. Sometimes babies can fall out of trees during storms.”

Most of the animals that arrive at the shelter are brought in by members of the public. If someone doesn’t drive or can’t bring an animal in, Procyon Wildlife will work with them to find a way to get the animal to the shelter.

Procyon Wildlife works only with wildlife and doesn’t take in domesticated pets, such as cats and dogs. The shelter only accepts species that are native to Ontario.

“We do have an education program,” Debra said. “We have Girl Guides, Scouts, and Brownies. They come to the centre and we educate them on all wildlife. We go to fairs and community events to share the knowledge.”

Many younger people enjoy working with animals, and teenagers are welcome to apply for a volunteer position.

Anyone under the age of 18 isn’t allowed to handle the animals, but they can help with everything else and make sure the animals are well taken care of.

If you are interested in volunteering and working with wildlife, visit the website at www.procyonwildlife.com.

There is a section about volunteering.

Once you fill out the application, Procyon Wildlife will contact you and let you know when the next training date is scheduled.

Volunteering with Procyon is a terrific opportunity to work with wildlife and help during a time of year when many young animals are at risk. 

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