Raptor Education Lab: A class coordinated with Wake Technical Community College

Since 2009, we have offered a wildlife rehabilitation class through Wake Technical Community College. The class is an intensive study class with 5 night classes, once per week, and 3 Sunday afternoon live animal workshops, and is usable as experience towards getting your Raptor rehab license. It is also certified by the NC Veterinary Board for Veterinary Continuing Education.

For information on the 5 week class, call us or visit the WTCC website: http:// conted.waketech.edu
In the “Find A Class” search box type in “raptor” it will show you to the upcoming course offered.

This course does not give you a license, it gives you some of the experience and knowledge required to apply for federal and state raptor rehab licenses.  That means it gives a portion of the needed credits, not all of them.  The requirements for the federal license are 100 hours experience within a 1 year time.  The course provides 12.5 hours class time and 6 hours of hands on experience.  To get your license you will need to work with a licensed rehabber for the rest of the hours needed within 1 year for the course to apply towards licensing.  At this time the course is only available 2 times per year.

The first class lays out the “things you should know by the end of class” as the following:

  • Time commitments (what is necessary and possible)
  • Rehab politics (dealing with other rehabbers and government,and people in general)
  • Realities of rehab (survival rates, feeding and medicating, etc)
  • Identifying raptors (understanding the birds and learning their behavior)
  • Capturing raptors (what you need to catch the birds without hurting them further)
  • Basic First Aid (what to do on site and how to know if it needs a vet)
  • Contacts for vet and rehab care (people in the area who know what they are doing)
  • Licensing requirements (how to get licensed)
  • Basic Maintenance and care of injured birds (how to care for birds once they are in your hospital

These are general topics, specifics include how to equip your wildlife hospital, where to get the things you need, specific treatments and emergency measures, euthanasia and the laws, how to make your own raptor control equipment and more.  

There are 3 labs with practice of the procedures on live birds.  labs include holding and restraining the birds, examining the birds, how equipment works, and more.

This class has been approved by the NC Veterinary Board for vet and vet tech Continuing Education Credits.

There are 6 hours of lab with the course in which students actually gain experience handling the different types of raptors.