Latest News1st January 2008
The London Wildlife Hospital will be closed to new admissions between 1st January and 30th March 2008 whilst building works, and staff training take place. During this time, however, our WATERFOWL rescue service will still be operating. The contact number will be given at the end of this bulletin.
When we re-open in April, we will be specialising in the care of birds and small mammals, with a particular emphasis on the rescue, treatment and rehabilitation of waterbirds such as swans, geese, ducks, gulls, herons, coots and moorhens.
We will no longer be routinely admitting foxes or badgers into the hospital although our rescue teams may respond to genuine emergency calls in our immediate area. We will continue to provide a response to deer at roadside in our area as there is no other organization suitably equipped to respond to these dangerous yet highly sensitive animals in the Sutton/Croydon/Bromley area.
Most fox rescue work will be passing to The Fox Project, who will cover much of the area that we currently do. We have also always taken a large number of fox calls which are geographically closer to Wildlife Aid at Leatherhead than us which we will now leave to them. Calls falling outside of the catchement of these two organizations will be left to either the RSPCA or the National Fox Welfare Society. Badgers will be referred to the East Surrey Badger Protection Group, based nearby in Croydon. Referral numbers for these organizations are listed below.
As part of our revised remit, we expect to cover a wider area in terms of waterfowl rescue and we will be working closely with several agencies to become the primary responders for any major wildfowl incident occurring on the Thames between Teddington and the tidal estuary.
We will also be working closely with the Metropolitan Police Service and various local agencies to significantly increase our activities in countering wildlife crime and educating the public about the threat this now poses to our wild birds and mammals. This will include joint publications, public roadshows and special operations such as protection and surveillance at locations where wildlife crime has occurred or is deemed highly likely.
The hospital will no longer provide a 24hour service as this was aimed mainly at Fox and badger work which we will no longer be doing, although some operations such as wildlife crime work will take place around the clock. Our opening hours for receiving casualties from the public will be 9am until 9pm in the summer months (April-September) and 9am until 6pm in the winter months (October-March)
These service revisions have come about as a result of two key considerations:
1) A review of the annual financial support that we are able to rely upon, in light of the sharp increases we have faced in many of our operating costs, means that we can no longer fund the full range of care and rescue services we have offered given the sheer numbers involved
2) The number of animals we are now admitting is beginning to overwhelm our outside facilities (aviaries and enclosures), which in turn overloads the internal wards. Our attempts over four years to persuade Thames Water and Viridor to lease us a small piece of land to our rear which they have no use for, and which would make a world of difference to us, have proven unsuccessful and so we are unable to build the additional pens that we would need to continue admitting the entire range of species that we once did.
We will be recruiting new volunteers to work new shift patterns as of March, with seasonal posts, supervisory and fundraising opportunities available. If you would like an information pack, please write to us at Beddington Park or e-mail us. Packs available from early/mid February
Our work at our Wandsworth and Ealing Centres is unaffected by the changes at Beddington. This page will not be updated again during January and February but will feature news of our re-opening at some point in March
EMERGENCY CONTACT NUMBERS 01-01-08 – 30-03-08
LONDON WILDCARE WATERFOWL RESCUE TEAM 020 8773 0632
(NOT to be used for other casualties or enquiries)(NOT for use after 30-03-08)
East Surrey Badger Group – All Badger Rescues – 07973 327017
Fox Project - Fox Rescues in Croydon, SE London, Sussex, Kent – 07778 909092
Wildlife Aid – Fox Rescues and other wildlife in Banstead/Epsom/Kingston/Richmond – 09061 800132
NFWS – Fox Rescues in London – 01933 411996
RSPCA – Fox Rescues and other Wildlife in London - 0300 1234999
LOCAL VETERINARY SURGEONS*
*All vets are obliged to provide free euthanasia for any wildlife casualty as part of their obligations associated with the granting of Membership of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Any decision as to whether to provide more comprehensive treatment, with a view to preserving life and making an animal fit for release, is at their discretion and vets vary widely in their views and their willingness to help. We advise you to check with the practise before signing over an animal.
