AUGUSTA – Maine’s game wardens are now better protected than ever to deal with sick and injured animals in the course of their duties.
Thanks to a grant from the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund, Maine game wardens recently received specialized gloves that will help prevent the spread of infectious wildlife diseases, and offer protection when handling birds such as eagles, owls, hawks and ospreys.
Maine game wardens routinely come into contact with injured and sick animals as well as a variety of birds, some of which are raptors with large talons. The Maine Warden Service is charged with handling injured and sick wildlife calls across Maine. In 2015 alone, Maine game wardens responded to 105 calls for animals suspected of having rabies. In addition, game wardens responded to 2,918 calls from the public regarding injured animals. It is extremely difficult to safely and effectively handle these animals without protective equipment.
These gloves were the result of considerable work and research by Game Wardens Dave Chabot of Greene and Eric Blanchard of Wells and funds were made available by the Maine Outdoor Heritage Fund. The Maine Warden Service provides game wardens with the best equipment available to perform their unique mission for the State of Maine. These gloves are now available to help compliment the tools available to game wardens to safely respond to sick and injured animal concerns.
