11/30/09

MORRO BAY -- A Central Coast non-profit organization is in a tight spot.

They do life-saving work on a daily basis, but now the staff and volunteers at Pacific Wildlife Care in Morro Bay need a lifeline of their own.

They are helping nurse more animals than ever back to health, but donations are drying up.

"Unfortunately in this particular year with the economy, we have taken a hit," said Jeanette Stone, President of the Board of Directors.

Since 2007, staff and volunteers have cared for more than 4,000 animals. They were used to seeing 300 to 500 animals per year.

"I think just the encroachment of human life -- there's more cars, there is more people with fishing line, there's just more happening on their territory -- that we see them more often," said Joan Carter, a volunteer.

In the meantime, donations have dropped by 50%.

"Costs of food and medical supplies and antibiotics, they continue to go up," said Stone. "Those expenses go up and as our donations go down, you have to make some tough choices."

The non-profit organization's biggest expense is food for the recovering animals. For example, it costs $8 a day to feed a pelican the smelt it needs to survive.

If the facility does not get the financial support it needs, it may no longer be able to rescue and rehabilitate all of the animals that come through its doors.

"I think it's incumbent on all of us to take some responsibility and make sure that nature, you know, survives and thrives and is healthy and is there for all of us to enjoy," said Bonnie Lewis, a volunteer.