2025 is an exciting year for us. Up to now we have focused a lot of our time on creating the strongest, high welfare foundations possible and NOW we can focus ALL of our time & resources on building on this foundation and growing our Databases to help 1000s of wild lives.
We have some new costs this year so I have created this cost breakdown so that we can be fully transparent and so that you can make the most informed decisions, as to whether to support us to help wildlife, in the way that only we are trying to do, across the UK...
[*Before you read down to the ‘cost breakdown’ you will notice that on our ‘UK Wildlife Transporters’ website I am featuring a lot of how we’re also funding the Wildlife Care Badge. You may wonder, ‘why is that?’ The answer is…]
There’s no regulation of the wildlife rescue industry in Wales, England & Northern Ireland. As UKWT is a transport network for wildlife, this has led to a lot of extra steps being put in place to ensure that we are always doing our best to take wildlife to places who CAN provide the right care. See one of our proudest milestones shared in this BLOG POST.
The WCB is the ONLY Wildlife Rescue map/database in the UK that features Wildlife Rescues who have proven standards of care, akin to actual licensing (annual onsite checks, exams on wildlife care passed & high welfare practices proven through record keeping and an ongoing vet relationship, every quarter throughout the year).
The WCB is only really getting started but it already provides the map from which UKWT can run…
[The UKWT funds the WCB because I - Alana - as well as founding & running UKWT, also founded and co-developed, amongst lots of Wildlife Rescues & Wildlife Veterinary Professionals, all of us working together, the WCB. I did it in part because it was needed and in part because, without the WCB, UKWT would really struggle to know where we could safely take wildlife to, for guaranteed expert emergency care]
Our monthly outgoings (that fund the most minimal structure through which the WCB & UKWT can operate successfully) comes to… £329.31.
[That’s £329.31 every month that needs to be funded, someway/somehow]. Here’s exactly where every penny goes…
WCB / UKWT (Structure).
*Under this heading, the following is funded, at a total monthly cost of £78.19…
Our online presence (our websites for the Wildlife Care Badge, UK Wildlife Transporters & the Map for the WCB, at its own ‘UK Wildlife Rescuers’ URL) through which we are accessed, found about about and through which Drivers join up, Rescues & Vet Practices request Driver support, new WCB Holders join up & more.
Our WCB & UKWT email communications.
Our ‘behind the scenes’ databases: Drivers Database, WCB Holders Database, WCB Applicants (processing) Database, Vet Practice Database, Transports Database, Wildlife Rescues (to whom we can offer transport support) Database (and more).
These databases feed into….
All of our online maps (some featured, some behind the scenes). The ‘behind the scenes’ maps enable ME to see where all of our UKWT Drivers, the Vet Practices who want our help and Wildlife Rescues are located across the UK. Our ‘featured’ map is on the UK Wildlife Rescuers site and is there for everyone to find Wildlife Rescues with proven, high welfare (akin to licensing) standards.
WCB Map (Making It Happen)
*Under this heading, the following is funded - this is what needs to be funded in order to have a WCB Map of proven Rescues at all, that UKWT can use - at a total monthly cost of £171.96…
One of our WCB benefits: our monthly WCB Grant - £100 - for WCB Holders.
Another of the WCB Holder benefits: access to a Wildlife Rescue support community to enable high welfare practices (which costs us £50).
Funding the exam software through which WCB Holder applicants take the Knowledge Assessment exam, as the first step to becoming WCB Holders. (This exam software is also made available, every quarter, to anyone in the Veterinary & Wildlife Rescue Professions, who might like to test their wildlife knowledge base or just use it as a training exercise).
Funding ‘Zoom’ (online video communication software) that is used to run the knowledge assessments - like an online exam hall - as well as running WCB Webinars, meetings & UKWT ‘Getting Prepared Events’ & UKWT meetings.
‘Co. Costs’ (Which stands for…. ‘Company / Organisational Costs’).
These are the annual fees that we need to pay to Companies House to keep the WCB and UKWT operating as official organisations: Ltd Companies. The annual fee, for both, is £68 (which works out at around £5.67 per month).
Day To Day Running Costs (Administration Costs)
*Under this heading, the following is funded, at a total monthly cost of £73.49…
Our monthly bank fees (they fluctuate depending on how much has been donated but generally dip just below or rise just above £10 a month).
Our phone costs: £24 a month.
The remaining costs are for iCloud back up/storage of ALL of our folders, maps & databases and all of our documents, plus bits like stationary (a modest £2.50 a month) plus printing costs - to keep back up paper records of all necessary WCB/UKWT info since we opened - plus extra software to help me to keep on top of all of the WCB & UKWT Administrative tasks.
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And there you have it. A full breakdown of our costs.
And what does this investment of £329.31 a month produce in the real world, to help our UK wildlife?
It funds the WCB (which I have spoken about above).
It funds UKWT to…
Work towards a ‘safety net’ structure for our UK wildlife. We’re establishing a transport network/structure - supporting Wildlife Rescues & Vet Practices - across all of the UK, to ensure that wildlife casualties/orphans always find themselves benefitting from the emergency care that they deserve, to hopefully get a second chance at a new wild existence.
We do this BY…
Recruiting Volunteer Transport Drivers to be allocated in teams to Vet Practices so that... The Vet Practices will treat (and not just euthanase on arrival) a wildlife casualty/orphan, because they will know that they have Drivers who can move it on after to a Rescue, for long term care.
Recruiting Volunteer Transport Drivers to be allocated in teams to Wildlife Rescues so that... Rescues have Drivers to send out to pick up wildlife from people who can't drive.
Using our national network of Vet Practices to also provide them with the knowledge on HOW to offer medical care to wildlife (most don’t have wildlife training).
These steps - as we grow and grow - will, we hope, eventually ensure that EVERY wild life in the UK has access to medical care.
You can read about these steps & our target BIG picture in MUCH greater detail on our ‘BIG VISION’ page.
