WildARC Animal Rehab in Craven County Closing

After more than a decade of service in Craven County, the Wild Animal Rehabilitation Center, WildARC, is closing its doors. A dwindling staff and a mountainous workload have prompted WildARC’s founder and manager, Ellen Westermann, to close the facility. While WildARC remains open to treat and raise its remaining patients, it will no longer accept injured animals. Still, there are other clinics in the region, such as the Outer Banks Wildlife Shelter in Newport, that will provide rehabilitation services for wounded or orphaned animals. OWLS’ Executive Director, Trish Slate, urges citizens to drive the extra thirty miles to take wounded wild animals to the clinic.
“We don’t have an ambulance or an ambulatory service, so we do rely on the public to bring us the injured or orphaned animals they find.
The soon to be closed non-profit WildARC has treated over 10,000 injured animals over the last fifteen years, from bald eagles to otters.