02/04/2024
Dear friends,
It is with great sadness, and after considerable soul-searching, that we have decided to close Eagle Encounters. For 23 years, we have served the local community through wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, various conservation projects, education outreach and eco-tourism programmes. Without any government or corporate funding, Eagle Encounters has rescued almost 6,000 birds and animals, successfully released almost 4,000 back into the wild, was a sanctuary for numerous unreleasable birds and animals, educated and edutained tens-of-thousands of scholars and visitors, and was a safe haven and family for many Junior Volunteers. A small organisation with a big heart that managed to fulfil a giant purpose.
Having faithfully dedicated over two decades to serving wildlife and our community, being on call day and night, working weekends and public holidays, we have, after lengthy deliberation, reached the decision that it is time for a new season, where we prioritise spending more family time together.
The centre's doors are closed to the public as of 02 April 2024. Over the following months, we will continue with our release programme, while those birds and animals that cannot be reintegrated back into the wild will be sent to homes vetted by us, with the assistance of CapeNature.
Our heartfelt gratitude to Spier, our amazing patrons, our dedicated staff and volunteers, and our supporters for your years of loyalty. We would like to ask for your understanding to please appreciate our limited contactability during this difficult time.
Since we shared the news of our closure with key internal stakeholders, we’ve been immensely touched and overwhelmed by the influx of supportive messages from these valued partners, which we’d like to share with you below:
Faithfully,
Hank, Tracy and the Chalmers family
CapeNature
‘CapeNature would like to thank and commend Eagle Encounters for the invaluable contributions they have made through decades of unwavering dedication to raptor conservation in South Africa. The facility has been a beacon of hope for thousands of raptors, embodying the essence of conservation over the past 23 years. Their tireless efforts in rehabilitating injured and orphaned birds of prey back into their natural habitats and their passion for environmental education and raptor conservation awareness raising have undoubtedly played a pivotal role in preserving the Western Cape’s unique biodiversity and fostering a sustainable coexistence between humans and wildlife. Hank and Tracy Chalmers’ commitment to conservation has left an indelible mark in raptor conservation and serves as an inspiration to us all. CapeNature wishes the Chalmers family only the best for their new adventures ahead – you will be deeply missed.’
Dr Annelie Cloete
State Veterinarian Boland
‘It is with great sadness that we take note of the cessation of activities and imminent closure of Eagle Encounters, a PAPA licensed facility at the Spier Estate, near Stellenbosch in the Western Cape Province.
I have had the privilege of working with Hank and Tracy Chalmers, owners of Eagle Encounters, since 2018, when I did the first inspection of the facility for licensing in terms of the amended Performing Animals Protection Act (PAPA), 2016 (Act No. 4 of 2016) as delegated Licensing Officer for Eagle Encounters. Their commitment to comply with all legal requirements and continued effort over these years to ensure and improve the welfare of the performing animals they kept is commendable. Apart from the rescue and rehabilitation work that falls outside the mandate of the PAPA, Eagle Encounters contributed significantly to public awareness and interventions, particularly when injured or juvenile raptors and owls were encountered by the public.
The closing of Eagle Encounters and the ensuing loss of this reputable CapeNature-permitted raptor rehabilitation facility, characterized by a phenomenal success rate of releases back into their natural habitat over more than two decades, is going to leave a massive void also to veterinarians, who will no longer be able to refer raptors for rehabilitation and release to Eagle Encounters, as such birds, that would have had an excellent chance of being re-introduced to the wild, will probably, in future, have to be destroyed. This is a huge loss, not only for the tourist industry in our province, but also for raptor conservation in general.
The Western Cape Department of Agriculture is committed to the wellbeing of performing animals, as well as to the industries that make use of these animals. The loss of Eagle Encounters is a huge loss to this province and we regret the news of cessation of their activities.’
Dr Andrew Jenkins
Ornithologist
‘Both saddened and distressed to hear that the Eagle Encounters wildlife rehabilitation, education and demonstration centre at the Spier Wine Farm, is closing down, especially considering the quality of the work the centre does, how, and why. I’m saddened because I’ve known Hank and Tracy Chalmers since they founded Eagle Encounters more than 20 years ago and have never known them to be anything but sincerely and passionately committed to the commendable objectives of the centre. And I’m distressed because I can’t see how the void left by the closure of Eagle Encounters will ever effectively be filled.
I first crossed paths with Eagle Encounters in the early 2000s, when I was running a raptor research programme at the FitzPatrick Institute at UCT. Ever since, Hank has routinely informed either myself or other staff at UCT about any ringed birds that came into the centre that were part of our ongoing research on wild raptor populations on the Cape Peninsula, and the research community has routinely delivered any injured raptors we came across during our work to Eagle Encounters, always confident that Hank, Tracy and the EE team would give these birds the best possible treatment, and the best chance of successful release back to the wild.
With Eagle Encounters closing, who has the expertise and capacity to take on the ever-escalating numbers of raptor casualties that come into the Cape Town’s wildlife rehabilitation system each year? Birds of prey are fragile, temperamental creatures. Keeping them safely in captivity, and getting them healthy to the point of successful rehabilitation, requires a very particular skill-set. I fear that the City, and the people and authorities that have will only truly appreciate the scope and quality of the service that Eagle Encounters has provided for so many years, once that service is no longer available. In the meantime, the remarkable birds of prey of the Mother City will be paying the price.’
Dr Coetzee de Beer BVSc (Hons)
MANZCVS (Avian Health)
‘For 23 years, Eagle Encounters has been a vital sanctuary for wild birds, overseen by my father, Dr Deon de Beer, and myself as Veterinarians. From my student days to my tenure as a Veterinarian, our work here has been defined by rehabilitation, release and care for these majestic creatures. The closure of Eagle Encounters marks not just an end to a chapter in our lives, but a loss for the birds who found refuge here. Despite the closure, I extend my gratitude to the Chalmers family for their stewardship of this sanctuary. May the legacy of Eagle Encounters continue to inspire conservation efforts for wild birds everywhere.’
Dr Gary Buhrmann, (BSc., BVSc.) (Retired Chief State Veterinarian)
‘I worked for the Western Cape Department of Agriculture as the Chief State Veterinarian for Boland since 1999 until my retirement in October 2022. During these 23 years of Government Service, I had a very broad field of responsibility one of which was the control of OIE (World Animal Health Organisation) diseases of all species, including birds, to ensure that such diseases as Avian Influenza (AI), Newcastle Disease (NCD), etc. did not enter the country or be exported from the country via birds.
As a result of my involvement with birds I had the great pleasure of working with Tracy and Hank Chalmers of Eagle Encounters since about 2006, in officially overseeing the export and import Veterinary Health certification for birds in their facility. They were one of the first Rescue Centres to build a specialised Import/Export Vector Protected Quarantine facility for raptors which had to meet stringent EU and DALRRD (Department of Agriculture Land Reform & Rural Development) standards. The facility was inspected and audited by me annually to ensure absolute compliance with these standards of Health, Hygiene, Biosecurity and Welfare. Whenever birds were in the facility they also had to be tested by a State Vet (SV) to ensure that they were AI , NCD & Salmonella free. Mr. Chalmers oversaw these facilities, and I found him pedantic in ensuring that all the necessary requirements were met during the 30 days’ isolation, but especially the welfare of the birds. In all 18 years of my inspections there was never a bird lost whilst in quarantine or that I thought was being maltreated, as Hank insisted that they received the best care possible and attempted to minimize stress as much as possible, as such closed confinement is not something raptors are used to but had to be done to meet international disease control standards.
I had the privilege of visiting the main Eagle Encounters facility on numerous occasions during those 18 years, often unannounced, with veterinary students for practical experience purposes, and never once did we find any bird or animal there which one may have felt was being neglected or maltreated. I usually found them to be very protective of their birds, erring on the side of caution with regards to their handling, rather than stressing them unnecessarily. Welfare of the birds/animals in their care was always highest on their list of priorities. The professional way they went about rescuing birds and/or animals is something to be aspired to by other such facilities in my opinion. Great care was given to the animals, but also meticulous attention was given to ensure that all the Cape Nature Conservation and SPCA requirements were met because they have public entering the facility daily and so could not afford to be negligent in any way. The facility and staff also underwent annual inspections for their PAPA (Performing Animals Protection Act) licence which also involved checking on the personnel’s competence in handling all the birds/animals in the facility in a safe and correct way. Since I was the regular State Veterinarian (SV) for Eagle Encounters, I insisted that the PAPA audit be done by another State Vet who did not normally visit the facility like I did, so that there would be no preconceived judgments, but a detailed interrogation and inspection would have to be done for every aspect of Eagle Encounters because the external SV did not know the facility or personnel. No major non-compliances were ever found and their PAPA licence audit/inspection was always passed with flying colours according to my SV colleagues.
I was always impressed by their professionalism in dealing with the various Animal Welfare and Nature Conservation Organisations, being insistent to ensure that all regulations were meticulously complied with, for the sake of the birds/animals, as well as the fact that they are a high profile organisation in public view daily and cannot afford to be negligent in any area of their bird/animals care and welfare. Their extremely high level of commitment and dedication to the birds and animals in their care was always obvious and inspiring. As a result, I regularly referred clients with injured birds/animals which they had found to Eagle Encounters because I knew that if anyone could rehabilitate them for release back into the wild or guarantee them a safe and secure home, I could confidently say it would be Tracy, Hank & their highly trained staff at Eagle Encounters.
Over all these years I have always found Tracy and Hank to be people of immense integrity and honesty in all they do. I never doubted their sincerity and conscientiousness in providing a top class rescue facility for birds and animals, that people would be very proud to be part of, as validated by the numerous sponsors which they have who have also been impressed by the incredible and often selfless and sacrificing work that they do in order to rescue and rehabilitate so many helpless creatures. They have established a world status facility and have created an amazing legacy of success through their sterling work in the 1000’s of birds and animals that they have given a new lease on life over all these years.
I never hesitate to take our overseas guests to Eagle Encounters as I have always been very proud to be part of this wonderful organisation and know these very special people with such caring hearts for their birds, animals and people. Eagle Encounters is an inspiring example of people who go the extra mile for birds and/or animals in distress and deserve to be supported in every way by all organisations and people involved in Wildlife and Animal rescue.
I consider it a privilege to have worked with and know Tracy and Hank all these years. Should you require any further information or have any queries related to the above reference please contact me at your convenience.’
