Texas Grants for Exotic Animals

The rescue and preservation of exotic animals and their habitats is the mission of several organizations in Texas, and many of them offer grants to those seeking to help in their causes. Sometimes organizations, such as the Texas Healthy Habitat, support a variety of exotic animals. Other organizations, such as Sea Turtle, Inc. and the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary, give grants to support a more specific species or group of species.

  1. Texas Healthy Habitats

    • Texas Healthy Habitats gives annual grants of up to $15,000 to middle school and high school learning programs that benefit wildlife and the environment. It favors giving grants to those who are partnering with the community in support of the Texas Wildlife Action Plan to prevent more exotic species from becoming endangered and to protect the status of common species.

      Grants awarded through Texas Healthy Habitats may be used for supplies, transportation and training. The organization requires progress reports and final reports from those receiving the money. The final report must include evidence of impact and a profile of the work done. Grant recipients participate in a one-day training course in Austin every August. Deadlines to apply for the grants are usually in June.

      Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation

      Healthy Habitats

      1901 N. Akard St.

      Dallas, TX 75201

      (214) 720-1478

      Tpwf.org

    Sea Turtle, Inc.

    • Sea Turtle, Inc. rescues sea turtles from hardships that threaten their survival.

      Sea Turtle, Inc. in South Padre Island, Texas, provides grants aimed specifically at the protection and recovery of the sea turtle. The organization rescues, rehabilitates and releases injured sea turtles, but it also supports educational programs and other conservation efforts related to the sea turtle in Texas and around the world.

      Examples of programs supported by Sea Turtles include the Michoacán project, which has the goal of conserving nesting black sea turtles and their eggs from poachers; a project in Guyana, South America, to help and protect the leatherback sea turtle, and the Kemp's Ridley project, which involves egg rescue and incubation, and the eventual release of sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico.

      Sea Turtle, Inc.

      6617 Padre Blvd.

      P.O. Box 3987

      South Padre Island, TX 78597

      (956) 761-4511

      seaturtleinc.org

    International Exotic Animal Sanctuary

    • Along with its primary mission of caring for exotic animals in its sanctuary, the International Exotic Animal Sanctuary, Inc. (IEAS) in Boyd, Texas, supports conservation programs aimed at protecting exotic animals. In spring 2010, residents of the sanctuary included 58 felines (bobcats, cougars, jaguars, leopards, lions and tigers) and 13 bears that had been abused, abandoned, neglected or confiscated.

      IEAS works through the school system in Texas to educate children about the value of exotic animals such as those in its sanctuary. The organization provides an Emotional Enrichment Program through which it strives to increase quality of life for the animals it cares for. It also provides educational programs and public demonstrations to improve people's perceptions of these animals.

      International Exotic Animal Sanctuary

      P.O. Box 637

      Boyd, TX 76023

      (940) 433-5091

      bigcat.org