Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation of Louisiana

A nonprofit organization

47 donors

60% complete

$5,000 Goal

Your financial support saves lives! In 2025, WERLA cared for more wildlife than ever as over 1,100 animals came through our doors. The need for wildlife rehabilitation and conservation education has continued to increase and our workload has never been higher. Louisiana's native wildlife encounters more vehicular injuries, window strikes, and nest displacement than any other types of admission. Giving our native species a fighting chance through rehabilitation is crucial to the health of our land. All native species should be afforded the opportunity to fill their important ecological role in our beautiful state.

Meeting this growing need has come with intense strain as the average cost to our facility continues to rise beyond $180 per day. Last year, fundraising efforts covered less than half of these costs and WERLA is at a pivotal moment. Demand for wildlife care continues to increase but our resources have not kept pace in recent years. With community support, we can stabilize our operations and continue to rescue, rehabilitate and release Louisiana's wildlife. We see all Louisiana species coming through our doors including owls, hawks, raccoons, skunks, foxes, squirrels, opossums, beavers, rabbits, songbirds, turtles, and even bald eagles. WERLA has removed hooks and foreign objects, provided medical care for head trauma, helped with mending broken bones, and raised countless species of baby animals after being displaced or abandoned.

The need is constant and so is our commitment to our wildlife and our community! We receive up to 40 phone calls a day from all over the state, occasionally even Texas and Arkansas. Some days, volunteers and staff spend over 4 hours triaging cases, arranging transport, and offering guidance to the public. Every year we meet more people whose compassion guides them to our organization, and we want nothing more than to continue to provide this service to our community.

Members of WERLA look into the eyes of our wildlife every day and are driven to do everything possible to be good stewards to these wonderful creatures. Louisiana's wildlife is worth supporting, and funding for WERLA's organization is crucial to the services we provide. The privilege to restore wildlife to health and freedom is the wonder of what we do at WERLA!

Testimonials

"THANK YOU, WERLA, for your concern for our amazing wildlife, for checking under our shed and for sharing your 'otter knowledge' with us! Y'all are awesome!!" - Belinda via Facebook

"This Wild Life Rescue is by far one of my favorites!!! I have brought so many bunnies, birds, and a baby raccoon over the years and have never once been turned away or told they were full... They love and care for ALL wildlife. Definitly a worthy Non profit that could use all the volunteers and donations anyone could help with. Definitly my go to when a wild life animal/critter is in need of help."
Megan B. via Facebook Review

"If you are an animal lover this place is incredible! My wife found an abandoned baby squirrel that she was determined to save. Problem is we have no knowledge on how to care for a 2-week old squirrel. She called WERLA and they accepted the squirrel to foster and mentor back into its natural habitat. They take in all types of abandoned wildlife and provide an awesome service to our community. #NonProfitCharityoftheYear"

Mission

Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation of Louisiana (WERLA) is a state and federally licensed 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization founded to provide care for sick, injured or orphaned wildlife, with the intention of returning them to the wild. We promote education with regard to the preservation and conservation of all Louisiana's wildlife.