Wildlife Center of Salt Lake looking to expand

SALT LAKE CITY — The Wildlife Center of Salt Lake is full to the brim of animals needing aid. The center is already looking to expand after only being open since January. 

Board member Aubrey Ieremia said since opening, their phone has been off the hook with calls of animals needing help. She said the lack of centers in the state and the recent closure of the center in Ogden have made it difficult to keep up with the intake of animals.

“The phone is going off like crazy. We answer one phone call, we literally miss five more phone calls,” said Ieremia. 

She said their first priority is caring for the animals they have before they expand to a bigger building.

“We want to do quality care for these animals. So if we take on too many, then that quality [of] care goes down. So we just have to take it on day by day, case by case,” said Ieremia.

According to the center’s website, thousands of native Utah animals are injured or orphaned each year. Many of which will not survive without human intervention. The center’s goal is to rehabilitate and release them back into the wild. 

Ieremia said they are looking for donations for a bigger building to give better quality care to more animals. However, they need volunteers as well. 

“But even with us expanding to a bigger space — yes, we can take on more animals but that means we need more volunteers.”

The Wildlife Center of Salt Lake encourages anyone looking to donate or volunteer at the facility to visit their website for more information.

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