Help Wildlife

Aim

Help us to provide care, vet treatment and rehabilitation to wildlife casualties to get them fit and healthy for release back to the wild.

ABOUT BRENT LODGE WILDLIFE HOSPITAL

Our wildlife hospital admits injured, sick, or orphaned patients direct from the public,  the RSPCA, or local vets. We provide wildlife care, recuperation and rehabilitation facilities.

Our animal care staff and volunteers undertake this important work with care, compassion and commitment to patient welfare with the aim of responsibly releasing animals back to the wild once they are fit and healthy. Being a respected source of wildlife casualty care and knowledge to the general public we also respond to thousands of animal welfare enquiries each year.

Established 50 years ago we are one of the longest serving wildlife rehabilitation centres in the South of the UK.

We are now coming through our busy hedgehog care season, where many juveniles are brought to us cold, weak and hungry. We have also just received our first babies of the year. They are examined and weighed, and given warmth, food and fluids. Some may need hand-feeding or require veterinary tests and treatments or a course of medicines to treat their conditions. 

By the end of winter we are feeding and caring for hundreds of over-wintering hedgehogs to get them fit for release. The freed-up space will then be prepared for the influx of young or orphaned wildlife casualties. 

WHAT IS THE NEED FOR OUR WORK?

The UK has very few specialised wildlife rehabilitation centres capable of the appropriate treatment and care facilities for wildlife. Veterinary clinics, members of the public, wildlife police officers and RSPCA inspectors frequently present us with casualties, as they do not have the expertise or resources to successfully rehabilitate wildlife.  Our wildlife hospital is playing an important role in caring for and releasing healthy wildlife back into suitable habitats to help stabalise the local decline. 

Where possible we aim to release rehabilitated wildlife back to the wild as soon as they are fit and healthy. Our staff undergo vital training sessions to learn about handling, medical treatment, proper diet, enrichment opportunities, enclosure management, infection control, animal behaviours and release criteria. All of these skills are vital to the long-term survival of rehabilitating wildlife once set free into their natural habitats.

HOW CAN YOU HELP US TO HELP WILDLIFE?

We started off treating just bird casualties 50 years ago but we now have the knowledge and expertise to treat over 125 different UK species. The more educated people become on the plights faced by our UK wildlife, the more people take notice of what is happening around them. This has resulted in a steady increase of admissions through our doors and animal welfare enquiries. We are finding it increasingly difficult to efficiently treat the number of patients we now admit into our care. This urgently highlights the need for us to expand our services, update our facilities and improve our charity's resilience to ensure we can treat the variety of casualties we are now faced with. 

Coronavirus restrictions means our shops are closed once again and we are experiencing a drop in donations while our patient food and medical costs are rising, so we need extra support to ensure we are able to provide care to these vulnerable animals.

OUR PROJECT

At present we have limited powers and do not have the necessary resources required to treat extensive injuries or illnesses. This can often inflict unnecessary suffering as casualties are transported to local vet clinics for further assessment and treatment. We are looking for your support to fund a specially trained veterinary care nurse so that we can adapt our services and improve our charity’s resilience so that we can fulfil our charity’s mission. 

We have secured enough funding to construct a purpose built admissions building equipped with veterinary equipment and a critical care treatment room. The implementation of a veterinary nurse will mean our team will be able to perform procedures on wildlife casualties, such as x-rays, anaesthetic, wound repairs and drug administration. This will reduce our reliance and outgoing costs on outsourced veterinary care but most importantly this will prevent unnecessary suffering by transporting wildlife casualties to veterinary clinics. If you are able to offer support towards our appeal, to help the future of wildlife, then we would be most grateful. Every species plays an important role in our environment and your support could help facilities like ours help wildlife to continue to play their roles. 

This project successfully funded on 23rd March 2021