Animal ambulance for sick and injured wildlife

by Secret World Wildlife Rescue in East Huntspill, England, United Kingdom

We did it
On 21st September 2021 we successfully raised £14,575 ( + est. £6.25 Gift Aid ) with 581 supporters in 42 days

We need your help to fund a new animal ambulance. It will be used to rescue sick and injured wildlife and give them a second chance at life.

by Secret World Wildlife Rescue in East Huntspill, England, United Kingdom

 New stretch target

If we are fortunate enough to raise more than our target the extra funds will help us pay for food and veterinary care for the animals we're looking after, and could fund vital equipment such as wildlife rescue kits.


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Secret World Wildlife Rescue is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and eventual release of British wildlife. Every year we care for around 5,000 sick, injured and orphaned wild animals and birds.

Based in Somerset, we are a well-respected source of expertise and a centre of excellence where all British wildlife can receive the best possible care. We believe that every animal is important, and we respond to every call for help.  We are passionate about the natural world and seek to inspire learning about the world of British wildlife, encouraging everyone to discover what they can do to protect it.  

We know British wildlife is in trouble. Around 40% of the wildlife casualties we care for find themselves in trouble because of human activities. Common reasons for admission to our centre include:

  • being caught in garden netting, discarded fishing equipment, and general waste
  • nests being disturbed
  • road traffic accidents
  • gardening accidents such as strimmer injuries
  • persecution and intentional cruelty

How you can help us

We are fundraising for a new wildlife animal ambulance. This vehicle will be used to rescue wild animals in distress and take them to either a nearby vet or our rescue centre depending on their needs.

It will also be used to transport animals for our centre to our local vets for weekly check-ups. Eventually, once animals are fit and healthy enough to be returned to the wild, the van will be used to transport them safely with minimal stress.

The image below shows our old vehicle and gives an idea of just how much equipment is required. As well as this, the inside of the vehicle must be coated to allow effective cleaning and fitted with air conditioning to keep animals comfortable on hot days.

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Being able to respond quickly to calls for help is essential to give animals the best possible chance of survival. Having a dedicated vehicle will improve our response times and ensure that our response drivers are fully equipped for all types of rescue.

We respond to calls from members of the public all over Somerset. Finding an animal in distress is very worrying for people, especially if they do not have transport to bring the animal to us. We provide this rescue service free of charge and consider it an important community service. People want to help any injured animals they find and we enable them to do that.

The difference your help could make

A comfortable and secure vehicle also helps us keep an animal's stress levels to a minimum. The shock of being caught and brought into captivity can be fatal for some animals, especially deer, who have an extreme response to stress that causes blindness and can lead to organ failure.

Last year we rescued a roe deer fawn called Bonnie. She was found in a drainage ditch after trying to escape from a fox that was eating the remains of her dead sibling. With no mother in sight and no idea how long she had been alone it was clear that she needed urgent help. We were able to rescue and bring her into our centre, where she was carefully looked after by our animal care team.

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5 months on and she had grown big enough to be ready for release. Everyone was so pleased to see her go, not only because it meant we had been successful with a difficult animal, but she was so sweet and our team really bonded with her.

We want to ensure we can keep saving animals like Bonnie. A new Animal Ambulance will help us do that.

Our target includes the cost of buying the vehicle, fitting it out with the necessary equipment (air conditioning, rescue kit, sat-nav), branded graphics (required for an animal ambulance), and a year's running costs, including fuel, MOT, insurance and services.

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