Wildlife refuge

A wildlife refuge, also called a wildlife sanctuary, may be a naturally-occurring sanctuary, such as an island, that provides protection for species from hunting, predation or competition, or it may refer to a protected area, a geographic territory within which wildlife is protected. Such wildlife refuges are generally officially designated territories, created by government legislation, though the land itself may be publicly or privately owned. Also, the Chernobyl nuclear accident site has also accidentally become a wildlife refuge.

History

The first American wildlife refuge, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, was established by Theodore Roosevelt in 1903 as part of his Square Deal campaign to improve America. At the time, setting aside land for wildlife was not a constitutional right of the president. More recently, a bi-partisan group of U.S. House of Representatives members established the Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus to further the needs of the National Wildlife Refuge System in Congress.

Today there are several national and international organisations that have taken the responsibility of supervising numerous systems of non-profit sanctuaries and refuges in order to provide a general system for sanctuaries to follow. Among them, the American Sanctuary Association monitors and aids in various facilities to care for exotic wildlife. Their accredited facilities follow high standards and a rigid application processes to ensure that the animals under their care are avidly cared for and maintained.

ee also

* Animal sanctuary
* Conservation area
* Crown Game Preserve - designation of wildlife refuges in Ontario, Canada.
* Elephant sanctuary
* Fossil Park
* National park
* Nature reserve
* Protected area
* Zoo

External links

* [http://www.batworld.org Bat World Sanctuary]