The Raptor Trust is a 501 (c)(3) not for profit organization. Our federal tax ID number is 22-2420295. We are dedicated to the fulfillment our mission to:
- Provide free care and assistance to injured, sick, or orphaned wild birds.
- Educate people about wild birds, especially birds of prey.
- Provide a humane example for others.
1. To provide free care and assistance to injured, sick, or orphaned wild birds.
The Trust’s professional staff supplies the highest quality medical care and maintenance to all avian patients. A fully equipped medical infirmary, including an intensive care wing, exists on site. Services available include diagnostics, X-ray, orthopedic repair and specialized diets. Although begun as a raptor care facility, the Trust now offers assistance to all native wild birds. The goal is always to return all viable individuals to the wild. In the ten year period of 1986 through 1995, over 25,000 wild birds were admitted to the rehabilitation facility—half of which were set free.
2. To educate people about wild birds, especially birds of prey.
The Raptor Trust’s educational efforts to benefit raptors and all wild birds are actively pursued in several ways. Currently, two full-time teacher/naturalists are employed by the Trust to present programs on the natural history of raptors. These informative, factual presentations are given to schools, scouts, nature organizations and all other interested groups, and are attended by thousands of people, primarily young people, each year. Live birds of prey are often used in these educational offerings. Another way the Trust educates is through its own written words. Over time, it has published and distributed a great deal of information about wild birds in the form of pamphlets, fact sheets and posters. The publications presently available, all of which are free, are:
- Owl Facts
- Hawk Facts
- Raptor Nest Box Plans
- What You Can Do To Help An Injured Or Orphaned Wild Bird
- What You Can Do To Help Prevent Injuries To Wild Birds
- The Raptor Trust Story
- Wanted Alive: Birds Of Prey poster
- Bird Longevity
Most of these are also viewable from this website. Each year tens of thousands of people visit The Raptor Trust to view the many unreleasable native birds of prey in residence. People are allowed, indeed encouraged, to come and see the birds, marvel at them, ask questions about them and learn about them. It is hoped that through the process of learning more about raptors, people will become less apprehensive and more tolerant of them.
3. To provide a humane example for others.
For three decades The Raptor Trust has provided its unique services to the wild birds and the people who find them, always trying to be helpful and caring to both. It is the Trust’s hope that its long standing presence and humane conduct has provided a worthy example to others.
The Raptor Trust stands with the Black Lives Matter movement and all those working to turn the tide on American racism, discrimination, and inequality. Common to each grisly story of recent violent attacks against Black Americans is a fundamental lack of humanity that is at odds with the mission of our organization. We feel a responsibility to speak up and to act.
As an environmental organization, our focus is biodiversity, but we also endorse ethnic and cultural diversity. Social and environmental justice are equally necessary to provide a safe and secure future for the next generation. In addition to the current cultural and economic inequalities, we are also facing unprecedented environmental challenges, many of which disproportionately impact BIPOC communities.
Going forward, The Raptor Trust will make financial assistance available to educational institutions (schools, scout groups, religious groups, and others) to increase access to the environmental education programs we are so proud to offer. Support for these programs will come from the Len and Diane Soucy Memorial Fund, established in memory of The Raptor Trust’s founders, both of whom believed in equal opportunities for environmental education for all.