Wildlife rescue kits for volunteer response team

Aim

This project will equip volunteer response drivers with wildlife rescue equipment to rescue wildlife casualties in Somerset

About us

Secret World Wildlife Rescue is dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and eventual release of British wildlife. Each year we care for around 5,000 wild animals and provide phone support to around 12,000 members of the public, vets and other wildlife savers.

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. 

This project will help save thousands of wild animals in distress 

We have a team of dedicated Secret World Response Drivers (SWRDs) who respond to requests for help with animal casualties, rescuing and collecting animals from all over Somerset. They are all volunteers and without them we could not help the thousands of animals we rescue every year.

Our project will better equip current volunteers, allowing them to attend to wildlife casualties with greater confidence and improving the community service they provide. It will also help us recruit and train more volunteers from the community, giving them a chance to learn new skills and give something back. 

New and improved equipment will make animal rescues safer and more efficient, reducing the stress caused to the animals we are trying to help, which in turn will make the experience less troubling for the member of our community who called for our help. 

Access to equipment is currently a barrier for many volunteers and restricts how many we can train to attend larger or more complicated rescues. We do not have enough equipment to allow volunteers to keep it at their homes and collecting from our site prior to attending a rescue is not always practical. Most of the volunteers able to attend these rescues presently are those who are able to purchase their own equipment.

Coming across a wildlife casualty is very distressing, especially for people who are unable to transport them to a place where they can receive the care we need, whether it is due to mobility problems or no access to a vehicle. Our Secret World Response Drivers (SWRDs) are all volunteers and provide a 365 days a year service, assisting members of our community in wildlife rescues and bringing injured and orphaned animals to safety. 2020 figures were lower than usual due to Covid-19; in 2019, our SWRDs attended 1,197 rescues.

The project will also benefit our volunteers; we have around 150 registered SWRDs, 8 of whom live in the immediate local area. Parts of our local area are among the top 10% most deprived in the country; increasing our volunteering will give local people more opportunities to learn new skills and meet more people.

How your donations will help save wildlife

The majority of the expenditure will be on equipment. Rescue kits will include items that are essential for basic rescues that can be supplied to all of volunteer drivers regardless of their level of training. We will also buy equipment to assist with the rescue of larger animals, which will be used by more advanced volunteers with relevant training. Some of the essential items are:

• heavy-duty gloves
• cardboard carrier boxes
• hi-viz vests
• small and large padded nets
• badger cages

For both groups, having the equipment to hand will save valuable time when called out for a rescue and ensure our volunteers can work safely. It will allow us to widen our volunteer base and create more opportunities for current volunteers once they have received the relevant training. The more volunteers we have, the more we can assist members of our community with wildlife casualties.

Part of our budget is for a recruitment drive that will encourage more members of our community to sign up, and a training session that will create more volunteering opportunities and a chance to learn new skills.

This roe deer was successfully raised and released after being brought in by one of our response drivers. Your donations will mean many more injured and orphaned wild animals are saved and given the best possible second chance at life. Please support our appeal today and let's work together to save British wildlife.

This project closed unsuccessfully on 7th July 2021