Hope for Wildlife facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Hope for Wildlife

Founder	Hope Swinimer
Founded at	Seaforth, Nova Scotia, Canada
Official language	English
Owner	Hope Swinimer

Hope for Wildlife (also known as HFW) is a special place in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a non-profit center that helps wild animals. They take care of animals that are hurt or have lost their parents. Their main goal is to make these animals healthy again so they can go back to living in the wild.

The center also teaches people about wildlife. They want everyone to learn how to protect animals and their homes. This helps make sure animals have a good future. Hope Swinimer started this amazing place in 1997. It was first called The Eastern Shore Wildlife Rehabilitation and Rescue Centre. In 2006, it became known as Hope for Wildlife. Since 2009, a TV show called Hope for Wildlife has shown all the great work they do. By 2024, they had helped over 90,000 animals from more than 250 different types of species. Most of the money to run the center comes from people who donate.

How Hope for Wildlife Started

Hope Swinimer loved animals from a young age. In 1995, she was working at a vet hospital. A little robin came in that had been hurt by a cat. Taking care of this bird made Hope want to learn even more about helping injured wildlife. Soon, she decided to help animals full-time.

Hope started by turning her own home into a small animal rescue. She put cages in her backyard and used a spare room for baby animals. In 1996, the government asked Hope to get a special permit for her work. At that time, there was no such permit in Nova Scotia! Hope worked with the government to create a way for people to get licenses to help wildlife.

In 1997, Hope got her permit. She then moved to a bigger place in Seaforth. Here, she officially opened the Eastern Shore Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre. It was the first private center of its kind in Nova Scotia. After a few years, they needed even more space because so many animals needed help. So, in 2001, Hope moved the center to a nearby farm in Seaforth. This new farm allowed them to grow a lot. Five years later, in 2006, the center officially changed its name to Hope for Wildlife. It became a registered charity.

Hope for Wildlife has continued to grow. They have set up smaller "satellite" centers around Nova Scotia. These centers help animals get care closer to where they are found. By 2023, a 24/7 drop-off clinic opened in Cape Breton. As of 2024, there are three satellite clinics in total.

What Hope for Wildlife Aims to Do

Hope for Wildlife has three main goals:

• Rescue, heal, and release injured or orphaned wild animals back into nature.
• Teach people about how important it is to protect wild animals and their natural homes.
• Learn more about wildlife to help keep them safe and healthy.

How the Center Has Grown

Since 1997, Hope for Wildlife has become much bigger. They built an education center where people can visit and learn about animals. This center now has a building, an outdoor area, and special wildlife gardens.

Hope for Wildlife was the first group in Nova Scotia allowed to help and release white-tailed deer and large birds like eagles. They built a huge 100-foot-long cage for big birds to practice flying. They also have a large deer area with a barn for raising young deer. A big step happened in 2012 when they opened the first wildlife veterinary hospital in Nova Scotia.

After that, they built a special marine unit for injured seals and seabirds. Then, a large mammal unit was built for bigger animals like bobcats. On average, the center helps about 3,500 animals every year. They keep taking in more and more animals. These animals might be hurt, lost, or very young without their parents. Some animals they have helped include foxes, deer, raccoons, skunks, and beavers.

As of 2024, the three satellite clinics are located in the South Shore, Cape Breton, and Annapolis Valley. The center also has a helpline that gets about 40,000 calls a year. This helpline is for anyone who finds a wild animal that needs help.

How Hope for Wildlife Gets Money

Most of the money for Hope for Wildlife comes from small donations. These donations are given by people who visit the center or call their helpline. Many donations are around $10. This money helps pay for important things like animal food, cleaning supplies, and keeping the buildings in good shape.

Bigger donations come from special events, like their yearly open house. Money from their gift shop also helps. They also get government grants to hire summer workers. And, of course, money from the Hope for Wildlife TV show helps a lot too!

The Hope for Wildlife TV Show

Hope for Wildlife
Based on	Hope for Wildlife
Starring	Hope Swinimer
Country of origin	Canada
Original language(s)	English
No. of seasons	10
No. of episodes	137
Production
Production location(s)	Seaforth, Nova Scotia
Running time	52 min (1 hour timeslot)
Production company(s)	Arcadia Content
Release
Original release	January 16, 2011 (2011-01-16)

The TV show "Hope for Wildlife" is a documentary series. It follows the team at Hope for Wildlife as they care for thousands of injured and orphaned animals. The show then follows the animals' journey back to the wild. Each episode tells the stories of the animals and the dedicated people who work to save them.

Filming for the first season began in 2009. The episodes are usually an hour long. You can find episodes online on Arcadia Wild, Oasis HD, The Knowledge Network, and CottageLife. In the United States, shorter 30-minute episodes are shown as Hope in the Wild. These episodes are part of the CBS Dream Team TV block. The show also features other animal care places, like Dr. Barry's vet practice and the Metro Animal Emergency Clinic.

TV Show History

Filming for the series started in 2009. The first season came out in the fall of 2010 on Oasis HD. The second season premiered in the spring of 2011.

Since 2018, the series has been repackaged for the U.S. market as "Hope in the Wild". These are half-hour episodes. It first aired on September 29, 2018. The 100th episode of the show aired on February 1, 2019. This episode was filmed in the summer of 2018.

In 2019, a spin-off TV show called "Doctor Barry" started. This show focuses on veterinarian Barry MacEachern and the Burnside Veterinary Hospital. After a break, the series relaunched in March 2025 as "Hope for Wildlife: The Next Generation" on the Cottage Life channel.

Main People and Animals in the Show

Here are some of the people and animals you might see on the show:

Human

• Hope — the founder of Hope for Wildlife
• Dr. Barry — a veterinarian who helps the animals
• Allison — a manager at the center
• Rebecca — staff
• Nicole — staff
• Tiffany — staff from Homeward Bound City Pound
• Sara — staff
• Zach — staff
• Erin — an intern
• Dr. Krystal Woo — the first live-in vet at the center
• Julie — a staff leader at the Annapolis Valley Emergency Drop-off Centre
• Jessie — a staff member at the South Shore satellite clinic
• Melissa — the live-in manager at the Cape Breton 24/7 drop-off clinic

Animal

• Shubie - a raven
• Gretel — a resident pine marten
• Oliver — a resident barred owl
• Maxwell — a resident skunk
• Dan — a pet peacock
• Scotty — a resident pigeon

Seasons of the Show

Hope TV Online

HOPE TV

Available in	English
Owner	Hope for Wildlife

Hope TV is an online TV channel. It shows what happens at Hope for Wildlife. The website started in the spring of 2017.