We are thankful

• Because of you, we are able to continue to care for the rescued animals at the sanctuary.
• Because of you, we are still able to assist animals in need – regardless of the pandemic.

At Forest Animal Rescue, we are blessed to have such a dedicated, extended ‘family’

We will continue, we will get through this

Together, we will all make it through another year. We are resilient, we are strong, and we are determined.

Thanks to you, there are more rescues underway. Wild animals are being confiscated from situations of abuse and neglect and they still need a place to live the rest of their lives. We will be here for them. Stay tuned for updates as we move forward with these rescues.

Meanwhile, stay safe and enjoy this time with family and friends. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Volunteer. Donate. Review.

A positive online presence helps to give donors a sense of security in donating to the sanctuary. This directly benefits the animals.

Thanks to your kind words of support, we have earned the GreatNonprofits Top Rated award again this year.

The number of new COVID-19 cases in Ocala/Marion County has jumped sharply in recent weeks. 

Yet the community remains among Florida’s best at avoiding the ravages of coronavirus, according to state data.

As of July 1, Marion County reported 727 total coronavirus cases, with 477 added just since June 1, state Health Department data show. But as of last Wednesday, just 10 people, all county residents, had died.

That translates to a fatality rate of 2.8 deaths per 100,000 people. Comparatively, the statewide rate is 16.7. And for a wider contrast, New York’s rate was 165 per 100,000.

Meanwhile, Ocala/Marion tracks with the state in other critical metrics. For instance, the community’s hospitalization rate is 9.7 percent, compared to 9.3 percent statewide. And Ocala/Marion County’s positive case rate in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes, where residents are most vulnerable, is 7.5 percent. Florida’s overall rate is 8.6 percent.

Any increase in deaths, hospitalizations or positive tests tends to focus attention on what may have gone wrong. 

Yet those same numbers can also illustrate what was done right. 

In a recent interview with the Gazette, Mark Lander, administrator of the Marion County Health Department, identified several factors that have helped reduce the impact of COVID-19 locally.

Distance, in varying forms, was critical among them.

First, there was social distance.     

“We were very fortunate when it came down to the mitigation practices at first. I really felt like we did a good job with the social distancing, and there were some things that were enacted early on which eliminated a lot of the social areas where people could hang out and get that close contact,” Lander said.

Those other steps included people wearing masks in crowded areas, such as retail stores, canceling large gatherings and closing bars and restaurants and recreation facilities. 

“And we were actually adhering to those practices,” Lander noted. “By having that type of social distancing, we limited the availability of the spread.”

But Lander noted Ocala/Marion County benefitted from a different kind of “distancing” — to wit, having a broadly dispersed population.

“One of the advantages of Marion County is we are more spread out,” he said, noting that a light population density, relative to severely affected epicenters like New York City or even South Florida, helped Ocala/Marion County curtail the spread of COVID-19.

Distance was important in one other way. 

As the coronavirus took root, Lander and his team had the advantage of watching how other communities reacted and what health experts learned from that.   

“When you saw what was going on across the country, and even in Florida in some of the impacted areas, where they were started to get the cases when we only had a handful, that brings it home,” Lander said.

Consequently, Lander said the agency could understand the effects of interstate and overseas travel and close contacts.   

“They did a really good job on the contact tracing,” Lander said of his own staff. “We were able to get those secondary contacts, and while some of those may turn positive, their contacts didn’t. We did not see a lot of that secondary spread after that close contact.” 

Lander also maintained that unlike other places, Marion County, like the state as a whole, paid closer attention to what has shown to be the most susceptible areas: the roughly 50 long-term care facilities like nursing homes, assisted-living facilities and rehabilitation centers. 

“Really before they had enacted a lot of the regulations and requirements for monitoring, dating back to mid-March, we had started calling our facilities on a daily basis, verifying client status, verifying worker status,” he said. “That’s been a success, and the state of Florida has done a really good job with those long-term care facilities.” 

But, he added, much of the county’s older population, such as residents in many 55-plus communities, stuck to the recommended preventative practices and aggressively sought the Health Department’s input to learn how they could protect themselves. 

The Florida Department of Health reports that people 65 or older comprise 85 percent of the 3,550 COVID-19 deaths in the state, even though they represent just 16 percent of all cases. 

“What we’ve seen from those communities, at least from Marion County’s perspective, is that they were very compliant when it came to the mitigation recommendations,” Lander said. “The message was going out and they were being very, very proactive.” 

Representatives of those areas, Lander said, wanted to learn about best practices for sanitation, “what-ifs,” how positive cases were handled, among other details.

One initial drawback was a strict limit on testing. The department lacked testing supplies and lab capacity to get results. It was not until around May 1 that the department was able to provide tests on demand. But demand has faded over time, such that the department has scaled back from testing five days a week to just two now.

Lander suggested that Florida, in fact, may have done so well at controlling the spread that coronavirus fell off the public radar, and it has only recently popped back into the collective consciousness as reports of a rising number of positive cases emerge.

But while the community and Florida have erected a relatively effective firewall against COVID-19, Lander is concerned as Ocala/Marion County sees more cases of late.

“I’m not discouraged (about the future), but our future is focused on testing and education,” he said. “It is a novel virus, and they learn more about it every day.” 

It has now been confirmed that the caregivers at the sanctuary must adhere to strict protocol to avoid unknowingly exposing our animals to the virus. We must continue to limit the number of people that enter the sanctuary property and ensure that we protect the animals by having all caregivers continue to practice social distancing, wear masks, wash/sanitize hands throughout the day and continue to be extra-thorough about sanitizing frequently touched surfaces.

A study, published on the website of the journal Science, was aimed at identifying which animals are vulnerable to the virus so they can be used to test experimental vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) is believed to have spread from bats to humans. Except for a few reported infections in cats and dogs, there has not been strong evidence that pets can be carriers.

A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City who developed a dry cough and loss of appetite after contact with an infected zookeeper tested positive for the coronavirus on Sunday.

The study, based on research conducted in China in January and February, found cats and ferrets highly susceptible to the virus when researchers attempted to infect the animals by introducing viral particles via the nose.

They also found cats can infect each other via respiratory droplets. Infected cats had virus in the mouth, nose and small intestine. Kittens exposed to the virus had massive lesions in their lungs, nose and throat.

“Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in cats should be considered as an adjunct to elimination of COVID-19 in humans,” the authors wrote.

In ferrets, the virus was found in the upper respiratory tract but did not cause severe disease.

Antibody tests showed dogs were less likely to catch the virus, while inoculated pigs, chickens, and ducks were not found to have any strain of the virus.

What does this mean to you, at home with your pets?

You should restrict contact with pets and other animals while you are sick with COVID-19, just like you would with other people. Although there have not been reports of pets becoming sick with COVID-19 in the United States, it is still recommended that people sick with COVID-19 limit contact with animals until more information is known about the virus.

When possible, have another member of your household care for your animals while you are sick. If you are sick with COVID-19, avoid contact with your pet, including petting, snuggling, being kissed or licked, and sharing food. If you must care for your pet or be around animals while you are sick, wash your hands before and after you interact with pets.

More information is available on how to keep people and animals safe at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/animals.html.

Poor Yukon has been traveling too long according to him…fortunately he is almost home!

If you would like to donate to support the lifetime care of Yukon and his friends remember that donations up to $30,000 will be MATCHED until December 31 2019!

Thank you for your support!

Now that they are at Forest Animal Rescue and will experience a true sanctuary for the rest of their lives, they need NAMES. Before September 30th, submit your favorite names, one for the female and one for the male. We will tally the names and see what all of our supporters choose!

You can help us provide for these two cougars by donating to our special fundraiser

Gifts may also be mailed to:

Forest Animal Rescue
640 NE 170th Ct.
Silver Springs, FL 34488

Please enter your favorite names below, one for the male and one for the female:

Past news:

https://www.forestanimalrescue.org/argentina-cougars/
https://www.forestanimalrescue.org/they-are-here-two-cougars-arrive-at-forest-animal-rescue/

Another fantastic article by our local newspaper. They researched the entire article and even have a quote from Bob Barker himself!

http://www.ocala.com/news/20170901/price-is-right-for-new-animal-building

We are so excited to start construction – everything has been waiting on this permit – but we had ‘stalled’ in our fundraising due to the uncertain timing of the project. Now the contractor is moving ahead quickly and we don’t want to stop construction while we raise money!

Will you join Mr Barker in supporting the sanctuary and help complete the project?

We need to keep the donations coming in as fast as our contractor can build! 

Donate Now

If you prefer, your tax-deductible gift can be mailed to:

Forest Animal Rescue
640 NE 170th Ct.
Silver Springs, FL 34488

Will you help us to buy toys for them?

Juanita already showed us how much she enjoys the ball we gave her, but it has seen better days and she doesn’t like to share…

We need six new toys for six new animals – they are made of special material to ensure they are safe and will provide many years of enjoyment and rough handling.