Welcome

The successful rescue, treatment and rehabilitation of birds of prey requires specialized skill, training and of course, the necessary permits to hold the protected species. Raptor rehabilitation necessitates a good medical working knowledge combined with biological understanding of how the raptor lives in the wild.

All treatment of injured raptors is done under veterinary supervision. Raptor Rescue is affiliated to the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council and adheres to internationally accepted standards or care and practice.

Raptor Rescue's Release Committee

To ensure that the best interest of the raptor is always maintained, a group of people determine its fate. This release committee's function is to determine:

• whether the raptor is fit for release
• how, and where, to release it
• or, if it is deemed unreleaseable, then to ensure that whoever will be its custodian has the ability to keep it in the best possible manner

• Ben Hoffman ( PBC, Raptor Rescue and Falconry representative)
• Tanya van der Vyver (Raptor Rescue and display representative)
• Mark Brown (Bird of prey ringer, KZN University and Birdlife rep.)
• Johan ver Meulan (KZN Wildlife officer, Highway area)

This committee makes any decision under the medical guidance of consulting veterinarian Dr Oliver Tatham.

Meet the team!

Biologist Ben Hoffman heads the rehabilitation team and has 30 years experience working with birds of prey. He is also a falconer of many years both in South Africa and Zimbabwe, so has watched and hunted a wide variety of raptors. Ben was with the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management, before doing his dangerous drugs license and moving into specialized wildlife capture and international translocations. In South Africa he has completed multiple rehabilitation courses, including an Avian Rehabilitation Course at Onderstepoort and the IWRC 'Basic Rehabilitation Techniques' course.

Tanya van der Vyver has 11 years experience in the rehabilitation of wildlife which included being head of clinic and birds of prey for CROW (Centre for Rehabilitation of Wildlife) for 5 years. Currently completing her National Diploma in Animal Health she also recently achieved a 100% pass in the "Basic Rehabilitation Techniques" course hosted by FreeMe and run by the IWRC (International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council).

All veterinary work and surgery is performed by Dr Oliver Tatham of Hilton Veterinary Surgery. Dr. Tatham has been working directly with Ben Hoffman for 5 years and assisting in wildlife rehabilitation for over 11 years. He is also is on the board of trustees of the African Raptor Trust.

Pam Stuckenberg is also part of the Raptor Rescue network and runs Midlands Wildcare. She has many years of experience in all aspects of wildlife rehabilitation and can always be relied on for advice and assistance.

To ensure an ethically transparent process, all raptors released from the facility are ringed by Mark Brown and his team from the Natal University so that the birds of prey can be identified post release.