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Preventive Work Coordinated to Safeguard Wildlife from Forest Fires in Biobío

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In anticipation of the high temperatures forecast for this summer in the Biobío region, authorities from the Ministry of Agriculture have planned a series of actions to prevent and address potential forest fires.

One of these actions is coordination with wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centers to respond to emergencies that may arise during the season of highest forest fire occurrence.

Therefore, the Regional Ministerial Secretary (Seremi) of Agriculture, Pamela Gatti, along with the Regional Director of the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG), Roberto Ferrada, and the team from the National Forestry Corporation (Conaf), visited the Ñacurutú Wildlife Conservation and Rehabilitation Center in the commune of Tomé, as well as the Veterinary Clinical Hospital of the San Sebastián University (USS) in Concepción.

"As the Ministry of Agriculture, through our services, we are coordinating a series of actions to prevent and confront forest fires. Conaf has prohibited agricultural and forestry burning throughout the entire region starting November 13, among various other measures with public institutions and forestry companies," said the Seremi of Agriculture, Pamela Gatti.

"Additionally, with SAG we have established collaborative work to direct possible animals affected by fires to rescue and rehabilitation centers, so they can later be reintroduced to their natural ecosystems once healthy," added the agricultural authority.

This work is reflected through the various collaboration agreements that SAG has with Wildlife Rescue Centers (Cerefas) at the regional level. These include the University of Concepción, based in Chillán; the Ñacurutú Foundation in Tomé; and the Veterinary Clinical Hospital of USS in Concepción.

Therefore, the Regional Director of SAG, Roberto Ferrada, stated, "We are on-site assessing the current capacities of these centers to address potential wildlife impacts from forest fires. We hope not to have many cases, but we must be prepared, we must be ready for any emergency."

Meanwhile, the Director of the Ñacurutú Foundation, Cristián Herrera, highlighted this collaborative work and explained, "What we do is provide veterinary care to wildlife in need, and these animals usually arrive through SAG, which refers them based on reports they receive and brings us the patients so we can treat them."

Finally, SAG informs that if wildlife affected by forest fires is encountered, do not enter the fire-affected areas without authorization from the competent authorities. Therefore, if injured or harmed wildlife is found, contact SAG at the following phone numbers: 412228684 (Concepción province); 432322377 (Biobío province); 412520581 (Arauco province) or via email at contacto.biobio@sag.gob.cl to coordinate their care.