October 13-17 of this year sees the return of The Effects of Oil on Wildlife Conference (EOW), marking the 15th occurrence of this event.

EOW was co-founded by Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc. and International Bird Rescue in 1982 to bring together those that found themselves responding to the impacts of oil spills on wildlife. The conference has provided a platform for collaboration between international wildlife and industry experts of all specializations, government agencies, and other key partners on topics of wildlife protection, field recovery/capture, and rehabilitation.

For the first time since 2009, the conference will be held outside of North America, with Cape Town, South Africa serving as the host city. This decision to host this event in South Africa aims to highlight the plight of the recently reclassified Critically Endangered African Penguin. Without substantial conservation efforts put forth, this species may go extinct in the wild as soon as the year 2035. This year’s EOW will bring attention to the need to protect the African Penguin’s food source and habitat from the pressures of commercial fishing and the threat of oil spills.

This EOW will also acknowledge the remarkable oiled wildlife response that followed the sinking of the MV Treasure off the coast of South Africa 25 years ago. The oil spill that ensued from the sinking of the MV Treasure contaminated over 20,000 African Penguins, with an astonishing 90.3% of the oiled penguins surviving to release. An additional 19,500 non-oiled penguins were pre-emptively captured to prevent exposure to the oil spill, making this response the largest to date in terms of number of animals captured. EOW 2025 will feature presentations, displays, and social gatherings to commemorate this historic response. 

This year’s event will be co-hosted by the South African Foundation for the Conservation of Coastal Birds (SANCCOB), based in Cape Town, and Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, Inc. (TSBRR), based in Delaware, US. Together, with their international partners, TSBRR and SANCCOB will continue EOW’s lasting mission to champion best practices and foster engagement in improving preparedness to mitigate the potential impacts of oil on wildlife, as well as the rescue and treatment of animals impacted by oil and other pollutants.

The EOW Program Committee is looking for oral presentations, poster displays, and panel discussions on topics such as international response networking, case studies, and innovations in veterinary and rehabilitation methods, among others. Proposals are due to [email protected] by 1 April 2025. More information can be found here.

Tickets availability, with early bird pricing, will be announced soon. For information on the conference summit including event location, social events, workshops, sponsorship packages, and hotel bookings, please go to our website: https://eow-conference.org/