Forest Animal Rescue by Peace River Refuge & Ranch

As much-needed legislation is passed and greater control is brought to the largely unregulated practice of exploiting, breeding, buying, and selling wild animals as pets, the animals that are already in the system will need lifetime care at sanctuaries. There is an increasing need for appropriate lifelong care for all these animals and the training of others to assist in the development of additional facilities to accept animals as they require sanctuary placement.

Hopefully, the need for this program will reduce as future generations recognize that wild animals deserve our respect and should not be exploited as they have been in the past.

On the other hand, education to reduce the amount of wildlife conflict is becoming more urgent as the human population in Florida continues to grow, reducing the undisturbed areas of wildlife habitat steadily. The land that is owned and protected by our organization is managed to restore the habitat, remove invasive plants and maintain the best possible ecosystem for native wildlife that lives or is released on the site.

Our internship and volunteer programs help to provide this experience and fuel the passion to protect the animals and the natural habitat they we all rely on.

Our dedication to meeting the lifetime needs of releasable and nonreleasable animals is contagious - and our educational programs will help to fuel that trend.

Forest Animal Rescue provides a lifetime-care sanctuary to nonreleasable wild animals in a natural, wooded setting, surrounded by protected land.

Our sanctuary is committed to serving public welfare by assisting authorities upon request in removing potentially dangerous animals that are owned illegally and pose a public safety risk. We provide skilled services in the chemical immobilization of an animal, transport, housing, and veterinary services. We also facilitate rescues, and as needed, transportation to a reputable sanctuary out of state.

We work with Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation and authorities from surrounding states to rehabilitate and release wild black bears, typically orphaned cubs.

Forest Animal Rescue generates global public education and awareness through our international and domestic volunteer programs and internships, social media and online videos, presentations to civic groups, issuing press releases, and through our mail and online newsletters. We are in the process of designing and implementing 24-hour "AnimalCams" to extend our outreach even further.

We strive to educate the general public on the safety issues surrounding wild animals in captivity as well as the issues the animals face in exploitation, and why wild animals do not make appropriate pets.

At the same time, we provide opportunities for interns and full-time volunteers from around the world to learn the best practices for operating a sanctuary and caring for abused and neglected animals. Teaching others to help the animals recover from their previous lives of exploitation, abuse, and neglect will ultimately increase the capacity of other facilities around the globe to provide a solution from the ground up.

Our interns and volunteers work with us to restore and manage the habitat and provide safe release on parcels of land owned by the sanctuary, to rehabilitated wildlife native to Florida. Helping them to fully understand our connection to the natural world around us will ensure that they place a higher value on the protection of our Native land and natural resources.

For the past 25 years, Peace River Refuge & Ranch (dba Forest Animal Rescue) has been a fully licensed and accredited sanctuary. We provide large, natural habitats for the animals to live the rest of their lives in the most natural setting we can provide and the best in veterinary and nutritional care.

We have trained and experienced staff in animal husbandry, disaster planning, first-aid, chemical immobilization, and transport. We have our own state-of-the-art veterinary clinic and the capacity to handle almost anything we require on-site with our team of veterinarians.

In addition to our website and Guidestar profile, we have over 9,500 Facebook followers as well as a strong social media presence on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. These platforms help us to get the message out to educate the general public. We are in the process of designing and implementing 24-hour "AnimalCams" to extend our outreach even further.

We actively work with our National and international animal welfare and advocacy partners. We are members of the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance (BCSA) accredited by the American Sanctuary Association (ASA) and licensed by the Florida Fish & Wildlife Commission (FWC), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and US Fish and Wildlife (USFWS). Co-Founder, Lisa Stoner is a Master Naturalist with a finance background and serves on the Finance Committee for the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance.

We have supported and promoted the passage of the Big Cat Public Safety Act as well as a ban on big cats and elephants in circuses. We have educated thousands that wild animals do not make good pets and the best practices in providing quality lifetime care for wild animals that cannot be released. We are able to boast a 100% success rate in rehabilitating and releasing orphaned black bear cubs brought to us by wildlife officials.

Since our inception, we have met the needs of thousands of releasable and nonreleasable wild animals. Hundreds of interns and domestic and international volunteers have seen our passion firsthand and learned what each person can do to make a difference.