(For me, what we’re fundraising for, is providing Option B, for EVERY wildlife casualty who might fall through the gap otherwise).
OPTION A….
A wildlife casualty (a Hedgehog suffering from a dog bite or a Pigeon with canker, for example) is dropped into a Vet Practice & the Practice is run off their feet with domestic patients, with no one able to transport the animal onto a Wildlife Rescue, after emergency treatment has been provided. As the wildlife rescue industry is unregulated across most of the UK, the Vet Practice worries about the standard of local Wildlife Rescues and they are reluctant to send an animal onto just any Rescue. As a result… The Vet Practice decides that euthanasia of the animal is the highest welfare option to prevent the animal suffering within a noisy, busy Vet Practice OR being passed to a local Rescue who could end up, despite good intentions, not properly rehabilitating the animal or giving them a second chance.
OPTION B…
A wildlife casualty is dropped into a Vet Practice that has been made aware of the closest, proven, high welfare Wildlife Rescues (by us, through the WCB map) and has their own team of UKWT Volunteer Wildlife Drivers. On arrival, the animal is considered to have a chance of rehab & release (or at least a chance to be able to live within a high welfare sanctuary space) so emergency medical care is provided. The team of UKWT Drivers is reached out to, after treatment, and one of the pool of Drivers is free to pick up the casualty and transfer it, in quiet and calm, across to the nearest great Wildlife Rescue, for ongoing rehab care and their best shot at a second chance.
OPTION C…
A wildlife casualty is dropped into a Vet Practice who deem it to have a chance of rehab & release (or at least a chance to be able to live within high welfare sanctuary space) so emergency medical care is provided. The Vet Practice is unaware that the wildlife rescue industry is mostly unregulated across the UK and they call their nearest Rescue who pick up the animal for longer term rehab. Unfortunately that Rescue, whilst very well intentioned, lacks sufficient knowledge, premises and medications to properly provide the ongoing care required and the animal ends up suffering as a result, either passing away due to lack of care or suffering long term with badly healed injuries or ongoing health conditions that remain largely untreated.
OPTION D…
A wildlife casualty is dropped into a Vet Practice who deem it to have a chance of rehab & release (or at least a chance to be able to live within high welfare sanctuary space) so emergency medical care is provided. They call a nearby Wildlife Rescue that they trust but they are full. The next nearest trusted Rescue is too far away for Vet staff to drive after work or for the Rescue to send a Driver. Reluctantly, concerned that the animal is becoming more stressed within the noisy Vet Practice and concerned that they are causing accidental suffering, they decide that the only fair thing to do (to not risk passing on the animal to an alternative low welfare Rescue or put the animal through unnecessary stress in the Practice) is to euthanase the animal.
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THOUGHTS...
There are of course multiple other options that could be listed here, such as ‘a great local Rescue pick up the animal from the Practice ASAP and he/she gets their second chance’ OR ‘the Vet staff are able to transport the animal after work to a nearby great Rescue’ but these are a couple of brilliant options that occur amongst MANY times that Options A, C or D occur instead.
I think that every wildlife casualty/orphan, when dropped at a Vet Practice, when possible, deserves Option B as a minimum: getting emergency, life saving treatment to then be moved on swiftly to a great Wildlife Rescue for ongoing care, to have their best shot at a wild & free life.
Right now, in the UK, there is not the structure in place to support this happening. That is what UKWT (using the WCB map) is all about and what we are fundraising for.
If you want the 30 wildlife casualties/orphans a month (on average) who get dropped into Vet Practices over the Spring/Summer months to benefit from Option B, please support our fundraiser - https://www.ukwildlifetransporters.org/2024-fundraiser
Alana xx