Wildlife rehab centre admits hundreds of animals each year

National Post

23-07-2025

Sylvia and Robin Campbell didn't plan to start a wildlife recovery centre. Their journey in wildlife recovery began when Robin found a great horned owl caught in a barbed wire fence near where they lived on Vancouver Island. The owl's wing was severely injured, so he took it home. Neither he nor his wife Sylvia knew anything about caring for wild animals; they just wanted to help.
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Since there were no wildlife rescue facilities where they lived, they sought out advice and assistance from a friend who was a retired veterinarian. With a lot of patience and care, the owl recovered.
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'We love animals, but we had never done anything like that before,' admitted Sylvia. 'A local newspaper heard about the owl and ran an article about it. After that, people started bringing us other injured animals.'
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Sylvia and Robin didn't have the heart to turn away any of the ill, injured or orphaned animals, so they built a little wildlife sanctuary behind the convenience store they owned and managed at the time. The goal was to heal the animals and return them to the wild.
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Eventually, they purchased an 8-acre property in Errington, B.C. on North Vancouver Island that was zoned to allow them to build a proper wildlife recovery centre. Establishing a non-profit agency came next and the recovery efforts grew from there. 'We accidentally made our way into caring for wildlife, and it all started with one injured owl,' Sylvia said. 'Wildlife rehabilitation was just beginning to develop 40 years ago when we started North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre.'
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Today the facility is a world-class wildlife rehabilitation centre that admits over 700 injured, ill or orphaned animals each year. With the help of a resident vet, dedicated staff and about 80 volunteers, hundreds of animals are healed and returned to the wild annually — including many eagles and even black bears. The animals that are too severely injured to survive in nature find a permanent home at North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre where they help to educate visitors about being responsible stewards in nature.
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The facility is open to visitors daily and once a year visitors can witness a rehabilitated eagle be released back into the wild. 'It's always a good feeling when you release an animal back to the wild,' Sylvia said at the 2025 public eagle release. Moments later a bald eagle soared off into the sky with about 300 people watching with smiles on their faces.
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Those who love wildlife and nature and want to help have plenty of options. It can be as simple as installing a bird feeder, joining a nature cleanup, volunteering at a recovery centre or supporting an organization that helps wildlife. About 80 volunteers help North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre with their mandate to help injured, ill and orphaned wildlife on Vancouver Island.