Documentary highlights plight of B.C. wildlife with behind-the-scenes look at rehabilitation centre

Critter Care is releasing a new documentary offering a behind-the-scenes look into its rehabilitation center. (Courtesy: Critter Care)

Those who volunteer and work at Critter Care, a B.C. wildlife rehabilitation centre that has treated and released thousands of animals since its inception almost four decades ago, are seldom the type to toot their own horn.

It can be argued then, that a documentary highlighting the strenuous efforts of its countless team members, interns and volunteers has been long overdue.

Scheduled to be released Nov. 13 on YouTube, a new short film brought by Critter Care offers behind-the-scenes access to the Langley-based centre. With interviews from various staff members and footage of some of the facility’s most beloved creatures, it delves into some of the centre’s most moving rescue stories.

Critter Care’s Rod Janz said the movie will highlight the “countless hours” its team members dedicate to the care of each animal. Following each creature closely, the film will capture everything from the moment the animals are brought in for treatment to their release back into their natural habitats.

“I really hope that people see how much of a great job Critter Care does of taking care of orphaned and injured animals, and seeing them back into the wild,” he said.

Janz said he hopes the documentary stirs compassion within viewers, not just for the typically adorable creatures that pass through the centre’s doors - bobcat kittens and baby bruins, for example - but the less conventionally cute few that can often be overlooked.

“Critter Care gives animals a second chance, and it takes care of some controversial animals that people wouldn't necessarily give a second chance to,” he said.

“Even some of the animals considered nuisances, like coyotes and squirrels, are really important to us and to the environment. It’s incredibly important that we care for and don't lose all of these different species.”

Alongside the headline-making patients like big cats and bears, Critter Care is often a home to raccoons, skunks, deer, river otters, rabbits, and opposums. Of the animals currently in the facility’s care, Janz said the documentary pays particular focus to a “beautiful bobcat” named Tucker, a young, rescued bear, a group of mischievous racoons, sprightly otters, and rescued deer.

The varied group comprises some “real characters,” said Janz, with some boasting enough star quality they deserve their own documentary.

Janz said the film’s roster of subjects represents just a fraction of the 3,000-plus animals that are treated at the facility each year, a number rising at an alarming rate as wildlife throughout the province continues to grapple with growing threats.

“All of these animals having to come into our care just shows the state of the environment that they’re living in, especially in our urban and suburban areas settings where we are losing so much of their habitat,” he said.

“We’re hoping that viewers can understand the plight of these animals and experience this journey with us.”