Volunteers wanted to transport injured wildlife on north Wales coast
An RSPCA wildlife centre is appealing for volunteer drivers along the north Wales coast to help ferry injured wild animals to vets and rehabilitation centres.
RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre, based in Nantwich, Cheshire, has launched the recruitment drive alongside UK Wildlife Transporters, a non-profit set up in 2020.
The pair want to build a network of volunteers who can collect injured wildlife from members of the public or veterinary practices and move them to Stapeley Grange, local vets, or approved rehabilitators.
Organisers said they were short of drivers in Prestatyn and the surrounding coastal area, which extends east along the Dee Estuary towards Flintshire.
UK Wildlife Transporters helped 793 wild animals across the UK last year, with hedgehogs, garden birds and pigeons the most common casualties.
The scheme also aims to recruit more vet practices to a wildlife care network across north Wales.
Lee Stewart, manager at RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre, said:
“This partnership is a hugely important step forward for wildlife rescue across our region. By working together with UK Wildlife Transporters and wildlife-friendly veterinary practices, we can ensure injured wildlife reaches appropriate care more quickly and safely.”
He said the scheme would also help reduce the number of animals taken to unapproved facilities attempting to rehabilitate wildlife.
Lee Stewart said:
“It will reduce the number of animals entering these backyard projects and provide a stronger, more visible wildlife rescue network that ultimately reduces animal suffering.
“Our volunteer wildlife transporters play a vital role in animal welfare, helping to transport mammals such as bats, rodents, fox and badger cubs, to nestlings, fledglings, gulls, offshore birds, and smaller waterfowl species.
“By being able to react quickly to an often-changing situation this timely transport can often mean the difference between life and death for an animal.”
Volunteers can offer as much or as little time as they are able and will be asked to use their own vehicle and buy a couple of animal carriers.
Lee Stewart said the centre had been able to save more wild animals since the partnership with UK Wildlife Transporters began, but coverage along the north Wales coast was thin.
Lee Stewart said:
“There are areas where we have a concentration of volunteers and others where our numbers are low, so we would really like to recruit more volunteers in Prestatyn and the surrounding areas of the north Wales coast.
“As well as a passion for wildlife, volunteers will need to have their own transport and be prepared to purchase a couple of animal carriers.”
Alana Hurd, founder of UK Wildlife Transporters, said:
“This partnership with RSPCA Stapeley Grange has had an immediate, noticeable impact on wildlife in the areas surrounding the centre. It is helping wildlife on a scale that’s more than I ever hoped for, when we started working together by enabling new ways for these deserving creatures to benefit from expert care, when otherwise they would have missed out.”
Anyone interested in volunteering, or any vet practice wishing to join the scheme, can email [email protected].
More information for vets is available at ukwildlifetransporters.org/info-for-vets.
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