Manatee County’s largest wildlife rescue center reopens

BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — After more than a year of work and repairs, Manatee County’s largest wildlife rescue center recently fully reopened.

For eight years, Jill St John has called this rescue center part of her family.

“I love animals immensely. Whenever they get bigger, a lot of us volunteers are blessed to release them back into the wild,” she said.

She’s a volunteer at Wildlife, Inc. Education & Rehabilitation Center, which just fully reopened last month after Hurricanes Helene and Milton caused flooding and damage at their Bradenton Beach location.

“I’m glad we are reopen,” she said.

While the center still took in rescues, it remained closed for more than a year. They were finally able to turn their phones back on last month.

“The phone is ringing a lot again,” she said.

So far this year, the center has helped more than a thousand rescued wildlife animals — including a bird with West Nile virus that came in this week.

Gail Straight, the owner, said it took more than a year to reopen because of issues with getting materials and finding people to build — including rebuilding the homes for the wildlife.

“I had to get new cages … All the shelves and everything are new,” she said.

As more calls come in each day at the center, St John knows her volunteer work is helping give the wildlife animals a new beginning.