When Christine Cummings heard that Charles River Laboratories would no longer offer free mice for her raptor rehabilitation work, fear struck hard. Cummings is the president and founder of 'A Place Called Hope,' a rehabilitation and education center in Killingworth. The non-profit has been in the business of caring for injured and orphaned raptors since 2007.
Cummings has an aviary, an arrangement with a veterinarian for their care, and licenses and permits from the state and federal government. What she doesn't have any longer is a free supply of the food the birds need to survive.
These birds eat rodents. And they have to recognize the food or else they'll usually refuse to eat it. Which is why the free mice from Charles River were so amazing. Four to six bags of frozen, euthanized mice every 6-8 weeks were enough to feed their brood of permanent and rehabilitating residents. Take that away and Cummings is looking at costs of about $60,000 annually to feed the birds under her care.
Mary-Beth Kaezer, who with her husband founded the non-profit Horizon Wings rehabilitation center in Ashford in 2001, estimates her annual feeding costs to be about $23,000 annually. That's what she estimates it costs to feed 18 permanent residents that include hawks, owls, vultures, ravens, two eagles and a peregrine falcon.
Kaezer has broken down the finances of feeding her birds in dollars and grams. Mice can weigh from 10 to 30 grams, rats from 50 to 400 grams. An eagle can eat 300 grams a day. An American Kestrel, the smallest North American falcon, requires about 20 grams daily. Juvenile birds can consume as much as their adult counterparts. Kaezer had three immature Red Shoulder Hawks in the spring and altogether they consumed about 18 mice a day.
Kaezer and Cummings and a host of other wildlife rehabilitators were the beneficiaries of the "overstock" of laboratories that bred control mice for biomedical experiments. Estimates place the number of mice and rats used in the US at 15-20 million. But times are changing.
Amy Cianciaruso, CRL's executive director of public relations and corporate communications, said the company's focus has turned to replacement, reduction and refinement. "Our goal is to balance the number of animals produced to meet the needs of individuals working in biomedical research. We cannot over-produce animals that may not be needed by our customers because of our moral responsibility to ensure animal welfare," she wrote.
CRL makes about $500 million annually on the rodents. But a trend to study 'knock-out' mice has upped the ante. Custom mice, those with specific gene manipulations, can cost in the tens of thousands. An established line can run hundreds of dollars.
Rehabbers have been trying to piece together alternative food sources for their birds. Breeding mice on their own is not an option. That would cost more than buying the mice at current costs. It would require staffing and facilities neither Kaezer nor Cummings have the resources to provide.
Laurie Fortin, a wildlife biologist with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection said the arrangement with Charles River was unique. "I don't know if they are ever going to get that supply again," she said. "It was a specialized program where they were doing research on mice in such a way that wouldn't impact the birds that were feeding on them. Finding an alternative supply isn't as easy as it sounds."
About 600 raptors come in to the state's 55 raptor rehabilitators annually. An estimated 50 percent are released back into the wild. The others die from their injuries or are too badly injured to be released. Rehabbers are motivated to save every raptor they can. The American kestrel, bald eagle and short eared owl are on the DEEP's threatened list. The barn owl, northern harrier, peregrine falcon, sharp shinned hawk and barred owl are endangered, and the kestrel may soon join them.
APCH vice president and rehabber Grace Krick said helping the raptors is her way of giving back. "Ninety-nine percent of the wildlife we take care of are injured because of the carelessness they face," she said. There are birds found in illegal leg hold traps. They come in shot or poisoned or hit by cars. "They deserve to be taken care of," she said.
"We really believe we're doing what we're supposed to be doing," Krick said. "And if you're doing what you're supposed to be doing, there is going to be a way to do it."