I'd like to celebrate some of our achievements this year: all in aid of ensuring that - one day ASAP - there is a 'safety net' structure across all of the UK, so that every wildlife casualty/orphan can find themselves benefitting from the emergency care that they deserve...
[If you think that what the Wildlife Care Badge & UK Wildlife Transporters are doing is worth supporting, please check out our Xmas Fundraiser.]
[And, to remind you of our BIG vision, check out the infographic below...]
I AM INVITING YOU TO CELEBRATE (ONE)...
UKWT currently relies on the Wildlife Care Badge to provide a foundation to know where wildlife can be taken to, as the wildlife rescue industry is currently unregulated in England, Wales & Northern Ireland. I set up the WCB because of experiences when I started running UKWT, when I realised how hard it was to know where animals could confidently be taken to, for at least a minimum level of care. I was the WCB's Founder but just one of the Co Developers, amongst lots of Wildlife Rescuers & Veterinary Professionals, who provided & still provide the essential expertise & content - and I run it as well as running UKWT.
At the heart of WCB efforts is the developing of a UK Wildlife Rescuers Map that features proven Wildlife Rescues/Rehabbers who can confidently offer knowledgeable, high welfare rehabilitative care to wildlife casualties & orphans. This is so that members of the public, Vet Professionals and even other Wildlife Rehabbers can know who they can confidently pass poorly/orphaned wildlife to, across the UK, for high welfare care. UKWT uses this map for all of our transport procedures. WCB Holders prove knowledge of the species they take in, they prove that their premises can provide a high welfare environment and that they work with a Vet: they also prove record keeping and an ongoing vet relationship throughout the year. They do this all voluntarily and I am in awe of all of them.
I AM INVITING YOU TO CELEBRATE (TWO)...
WCB Holders renewing! - The WCB is 100% voluntary so it has always been up to Wildlife Rescuers to embrace it or not, as a self regulation scheme... We always knew that 'WCB Holders choosing to renew their annual badges' would be the biggest step so we are really pleased that some WCB Holders are on their 3rd renewal & almost all other WCB Holders are renewing too...
I have been working with more WCB Holders who are organising their annual 2024 renewals for their WCB Badges (confirming their Veterinary Visit Reports of their premises and creating & sending them their renewal certificates). Renewals involve: letting us know what CPD they have done over the last year, having a new veterinary visit of their premises & letting us know about any new fosterers they may have (their premises need approving too, through pictures).
One of the renewals of a WCB Holder - a wonderful Hedgehog Rescue who are on their 3rd renewal - prompted this blog post, a call to action: https://www.wildlifecarebadge.com/post/why-wait-for-others-to-act-especially-based-on-current-events
I AM INVITING YOU TO CELEBRATE (THREE)...
UKWT has run these 'Getting Prepared To Help Wildlife' online events throughout the year. I have also given 50% of funds raised to Celandine Wood Animal Rescue, as they have helped UKWT and wildlife a lot for many years...
The reason I run these events is, first & foremost... In a lot of cases, when members of the public find wildlife casualties/orphans, due to the time it can take to find help and the wrong care being given in the meantime (with the best of intentions) the animals don't survive, when they might have done if the caller had been prepared and had found the right help a lot faster.
The aim of these events is to make sure that everyone is prepared to help a wildlife casualty/orphan (when one almost inevitably appears) so that it is a speedy and rewarding experience for the human as well as a fair go at a second chance, for the animal. Check out the event and some lovely REVIEWS.
I AM INVITING YOU TO CELEBRATE (FOUR)...
UKWT started in 2020 with us overseeing/coordinating all of our transports & then we evolved our structure into providing 'Drivers List' that could operate more effectively. See the full history HERE. This year... The biggest bit of work I have done for UKWT this year, and the most important, is adapt our support structure for Wildlife Rescues and Vet Practices, so that we are more hands on again. These new procedures have been trialled and are MUCH more successful and they’ll enable me to grow our Drivers Database much more quickly from now on too..
One of the areas UKWT has struggled with in the past - in setting up Volunteer Wildlife Driver Lists for Rescues and Vet Practices - was in ensuring that the relationship between the Rescue/Practice and the Drivers ran smoothly. We lost quite a lot of very reliable Drivers from our database because they found that they weren't getting the same support from the Rescues/Practices that they were used to from me.
This isn't anyone's fault: UKWT has only one purpose that I can dedicate my efforts to, whereas Rescues and Vet Practices have emergency care to consider and suffering animals in front of them, demanding their attention, and transport is just a tiny part of their whole structure. They simply don't have the time to put in the focus just on transport that I can (not without undermining their animal care).
So, I devised a new way of working... Instead of passing on a list of Drivers to a Rescue/Practice and just checking in occasionally to see how it was going, I have started setting up dedicated Whatsapp groups for each Rescue/Practices' Driver lists, which I will also be in, so that I can track transports, offer back up support (ensuring that all Drivers are safe on the road and that I still know when a Driver is out and about) and so that I am also immediately contactable should anyone have any questions. It also gives me a chance to keep thanking our Drivers for their incredible efforts, which I struggled to do when I stopped coordinating and Drivers were left to transport more independently.
I AM INVITING YOU TO CELEBRATE (FIVE)...
We have 18 Wildlife Rescues & 2 Vet Practices in the UK so far with whom UKWT has a 'transport support' structure set up... 13 have 'Drivers Lists' and the other 7 we act as a recruitment channel for Drivers for.
For those with a Drivers List...
- This means that we have a WhatsApp Group set up between UKWT & the Wildlife Rescues / Vet Practices: in the WhatsApp Groups are myself, a representative from the Rescue or Vet Practice and the Drivers.
- Transport Requests are made through the WhatsApp Group, by the Rescue/Practice and Drivers can respond.
- As I am in the Group, I can be on hand to help if Drivers have any questions & oversee Drivers getting home safe (often Rescues & Practices are too busy providing emergency care to animals to be able to check on a Driver after drop off) and check if they want fuel reimbursed straight after a transport. I can also thank them both privately and publicly, with I think is very important, as everyone is giving up their vehicle and time and should be
For those for whom we 'recruit'...
- This is where UKWT has bespoke relationships with each of these Rescues, mostly operating as a recruitment service, while the Rescues run Drivers under their own banner: overall, it’s a simple way of just letting Drivers on our databases (who join through our UKWT recruitment campaigns) know how to apply to these Rescues independently - providing them with links to go to, for example, on their own websites - to drive for them.
- We run our own UKWT WhatsApp Groups for each of these places, so that our Drivers have a way to still ask us for fuel once they have done a transport job, if they want to. (Even though they are choosing to drive for the Rescue under the Rescue’s banner and totally independent of UKWT, the Rescues are still approved by us as a place that wildlife can be confidently passed to for high welfare care, so we are happy to provide our UKWT Drivers with the fuel to drive for them).
- We ask Drivers - if they want to - to use the WhatsApp Groups to let us know if/when they’re out on a transport, as often the Rescue is too busy to check that a Driver is home safe and safety is paramount to us.
And more... I am currently finalising Transport Support Procedures for another 16 Rescues: I am just waiting on bits & pieces from other people before these can be confirmed.
2025... In 2025 UKWT's major focus is on providing transport support for a lot more Vet Practices - at least 100 - as, overall, this could enable emergency care for up to 10,000 wild lives next year.
I AM INVITING YOU TO CELEBRATE (SIX)...
I want to share a bit of a story... WHEN UKWT STARTED... Back when UKWT first opened, in 2020, when I was unaware of how unregulated the wildlife rescue industry was, I transported a poorly hedgehog to a Rescue with an official sounding name. I found out from them a few days later that they had no training at all in hedgehogs, had never rehabbed one before and had had no idea how to care for the animal. It was a BIG turning point for me and sparked an idea and future conversations that led to the launch of the Wildlife Care Badge. Now, UKWT is supporting Hedgehog Rescues proven to provide high welfare rehabilitative care. Read the full story & why I think it to be so important HERE.
Thanks for reading!
