LIPU Centre
Bioparco Roma (ROMA)
Address: Villa Borghese, Roma
Tel. 06 3201912
Location
From its inception the Centre has been accommodated within the Zoological Gardens, in an area which was previously used for penguins, and now provided with proper facilities for animal treatment and care.HOW TO GET THERE
The Bioparco and Rehabilitation Centre are within the former Rome Zoological Gardens, at the Villa Borghese.
Foundation
The Centre was founded in the summer of 1996 in collaboration between Rome Zoo (now the Bioparco), the Commune of Rome and LIPU. LIPU Roma Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre is available for all wild creatures in distress and to everyone who wants to help them. The Centre soon became a focal point for the help and rehabilitation of wildlife in the City and Province of Rome, the Region of Lazio and a large part of central and southern Italy.To ensure maximum efficiency, both in dealing with animals in care and with visitors, LIPU has organised an active team of generous volunteers, mostly members of the Rome Branch of LIPU.
FACILITIES
At present the Centre has a welcome and visitor area, a treatment room, cages for holding injured animals, and an aviary. A local veterinary surgeon also gives his services free, at his own surgery, for surgical operations, specialised therapy and x-rays. By the summer of 2000 it is hoped that the Centre will move to new and more modern premises (still within the Bioparco), where a much larger area will allow the gradual provision of various kinds of aviaries, special facilities for flight rehabilitation, a treatment room, an operating theatre with x-ray equipment and space for members of the public with information panels. The great increase in the number of animals undergoing treatment is testimony to the enormous amount of work done by the Centre.
Every year about 3500 animals are admitted for treatment; of these, 3000 are non-raptors, 400 are raptor species and about a hundred are mammals. The results of the first few years work are very encouraging: about 38% of the animals received at the Centre are rehabilitated and released into the wild, while 29% can not be released and are cared for permanently in aviaries, enclosures or cages.
Apart from this direct action the LIPU Centre is also involved in "indirect" conservation work, giving advice on the treatment of injured animals and environmental education. Among other activities carried out at the Centre are the reception of school groups, public release events and a programme of "Animal Therapy" in collaboration with some mental health centres in Rome.
Visits
The Centre is open to visitors every day from 09.30 to 17.00. Entry to the Bioparco di Roma costs L 10,000. There is no entry fee for those bringing injured animals to the Centre. Further information is available on tel.06 3201912.
