Here's how donating your Christmas tree can help orphaned animals
Instead of putting your Christmas tree to the curb, the Procyon Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre would like you to consider donating it to help injured or orphaned animals.
"We and any wildlife rehabilitation and in anybody's area would love your donations of Christmas trees so long as they are real and they don't have plastic, tinsel, or anything like that that an animal could ingest," said staffer Kylee Hinde.
With over 45 outdoor enclosures at the Beeton centre, staff members aspire to have a tree in each enclosure.
"Our squirrels really love them, our raccoons love them, skunks use them for hiding places, our possums climb them as well," Hinde said.
- Download the CTV News app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates sent to your email inbox
Volunteer Elizabeth Trickey highlighted the importance of creating a natural environment for the animals.
"Sometimes we get animals in that are orphaned, and sometimes all they know is the small enclosure that we provide for them, and that's not realistic, so what we do is, we put trees in them, we put stuff that they'd find on the floor of the forest. So, it makes it a little bit more realistic, and that helps them be more successful when we release them," Trickey noted.
And staff say there are others donations that go a long way to helping the animals in their rehabilitation.
"Even if you don't have a full-size Christmas tree but you have live evergreen of any kind that you've used as a garland or for fresh bows on your front porch or in your house, so long as they don't have plastic tinsel or metal, and wine bottles or liquor bottles that you've had company over for the holidays if you can donate those, that goes so far," added Hinde.
The empty bottles are used to bring in money to help provide formula and vaccines for the animals.
This year alone, more than 1,500 animals have been admitted at the centre, an increase of 500 compared to 2022.
Anyone interested in donating empty bottles, Christmas trees or evergreens can do so at the main entrance.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Breast cancer screening should start at age 40, Canadian Cancer Society says
The Canadian Cancer Society says all provinces and territories should lower the starting age for breast cancer screening to 40.
DEVELOPING Live updates as Stormy Daniels testifies at Trump hush money trial
Adult film star Stormy Daniels is on the stand a second time Thursday as former U.S. president Donald Trump’s hush money case continues in Manhattan. Follow live updates here.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Canadian-Israeli man shot dead in Egypt; claim links killing to Gaza
A Canadian man 'of Jewish Israeli descent' has been shot dead in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in a suspected criminal case, a security source said, while a previously unknown militant group said it carried out the attack in reaction to the war in Gaza.
Here are the ultraprocessed foods you most need to avoid, according to a 30-year study
Studies have shown that ultraprocessed foods can have a detrimental impact on health. But 30 years of research show they don’t all have the same impact.
Ontario man frustrated after $3,500 paving job leaves driveway in shambles
An Ontario man considering having his driveway paved received a quote from a company for $7,000, but then, another paver in the neighbourhood knocked on his door and offered half that rate.
Why these immigrants to Canada say they're thinking about leaving, or have already moved on
For some immigrants, their dreams of permanently settling in Canada have taken an unexpected twist.
BREAKING Sheldon Keefe out as head coach of Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs have fired head coach Sheldon Keefe. The team made the announcement Thursday after the Original Six franchise lost to the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Boeing 737 catches fire and skids off the runway at a Senegal airport, injuring 10 people
A Boeing 737-300 plane carrying 85 people skidded off a runway at the airport in Dakar, Senegal's capital, injuring 10 people, according to the transport minister, an airline safety group and footage from a passenger that showed the aircraft on fire.