In 2024, the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre celebrated its 18th anniversary—an important milestone, marking maturity and vast experience in saving wild animals that, for various reasons, require medical care and a place to recover.

We must admit that starting an “animal hospital” was not part of our original plans. However, as we traveled across the country observing various bird species, we encountered more and more injured, confiscated, or illegally traded animals.

This is how it all began…

We couldn’t remain indifferent to the sight of these animals in distress. In the early years, the rehabilitation centre was located in the courtyard of our office, where we initially had improvised cages, later replaced by specialised aviaries. As our patients required professional care, several veterinarians from Târgu Mureș got involved, and thanks to the enthusiasm of Dr. Borka-Vitalis Levente, the Vets4Wild association was born. By 2011, we were already treating around 70 injured birds per year.

2012 – a turning point

In autumn 2012, the Milvus Group, together with Vets4Wild, began construction on the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre in Sânsimion (Mureș County). With the support of the LIFE project, we built a 4-metre-high, 25-metre-long aviary, where large birds could practise flying before being released back into the wild. This was followed by a visit to our partners in Bulgaria, Green Balkans, who have over 20 years of experience in wildlife rehabilitation. That experience gave us a huge boost of enthusiasm and helped us develop a plan for the continued growth of our centre.

Our work started to pay off

In 2014, we achieved record results, both in the number of patients and the quality of our services. The centre operated at full capacity almost all year, showing the urgent need for further infrastructure development. That year, we took in 151 birds, 14 mammals, and one reptile. To meet the growing demand, we built a stork aviary and a shelter for medium-sized mammals (such as deer, martens, and hares).

We found reliable allies

Winning the project “Establishing a National Network for the Rescue of Injured Wild Animals”, funded through the EEA Grants 2009–2014 under the NGO Fund in Romania, was another crucial moment in the life of the centre. Thanks to this project, we managed to:

• build several aviaries in Sânsimion: a large aviary for the rehabilitation of large birds, a five-compartment aviary for birds that cannot be rehabilitated but can be visited by those interested in the centre, as well as a shelter for terrestrial and aquatic turtles;
• launch the website wildliferescue.ro, dedicated to the Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre, where all useful information regarding the rescue of injured wild animals can be found (a map of first aid points across the country, a helpline, etc.).
• install a network of surveillance cameras in the aviaries in Sânsimion, connected to the internet, allowing us to monitor the birds from Târgu Mureș.

And that is not all. Besides financial support, we needed allies. A prompt intervention is essential for the successful rehabilitation of an injured animal. To ensure timely first aid, we needed as many allies as possible—veterinarians ready to respond in emergency situations when an injured animal was found near them. In 2016, we organised the conference “Saving injured wildlife – veterinary aspects”, together with Vets4Wild. The event was well received by veterinarians, and together, we laid the foundations for the National Wildlife Rescue Network. The following year, we launched an emergency phone line, so that anyone who found an injured animal could quickly report the case.

We have continued to grow

In the years that followed, we kept expanding. For sour patients under treatment we built, with the help of volunteers, new aviaries in a brand new location in Târgu Mureș. We continued visiting other rehabilitation centres to learn best practices. However, sustaining our work and improving our services has not been easy. Without government funding, we relied on countless hours of volunteer work and the generosity of thousands of kind-hearted people who understood the necessity of having such a centre—the first of its kind in Romania.

The animals still need us

After 18 years, we look back and count: around 3,000 patients, thousands of phone consultations, and countless animals that have healed and returned to their natural habitats.

We hope to continue our work and share many more success stories—stories of animals given a second chance at life.

A big thanks to everyone who has contributed to keeping this centre running, as well as to those who have played a part in rescuing injured wild animals.