Can you help rescue the wildlife rescuers?

‘It's getting difficult to cope'
May 2011: Volunteers at East Sussex Wildlife Rescue & Ambulance Service (WRAS) are asking people to be more supportive and understanding during the busy spring and summer season after a spate of abusive calls - and are appealing for financial and volunteer help.

VALUABLE WORK: It took volunteers nearly  five hours to rescue three fox cubs last month.

Trevor Weeks founder of East Sussex WRAS who mans the rescue line 24 hours a day year-round said: ‘It is getting very difficult to cope with the calls coming in at this time of year, and despite trying our best to deal with as much as we can, it is financially and physically impossible for us to help everyone and deal with all calls.

‘Finding a wildlife casualty is stressful and we try our best to help or guide people toward other organisations that might be able to do so, but some people are abusive or rude, or accuse of us being uncaring, which really doesn't help.

‘There's only so much we can do'
‘We only have a limited number of spaces at our hospital which is almost full. We also have numerous casualties at home with various people being hand-reared but we have only a limited number of volunteers who are willing to put in the round-the-clock commitment to looking after the baby casualties.

‘We have more than 75 casualties in care at the moment. We have taken on more casualties this spring and summer than in any previous year. This time of year is always difficult for all rescue centres up and down the country that quickly become full and have to start turning casualties away.'

Some of the casualties currently in care include a baby roe deer, 21 fox cubs, numerous pigeons, two ducks, a goose, as well as hedgehogs and various garden birds. Wildlife Extra regularly reports on some of the organisation's more dramatic rescues - such as freeing three orphaned fox cubs from their den.

40 callers a day
Trevor has been helping people who find wildlife casualties for more than 25 years now. ‘We are receiving up to 40 calls a day at the moment, some are advisory, and others involve rescues,' said Trevor. ‘We do as much as we can and help more than 2,200 callers each year. Sadly we have to have limits as the welfare of the animals already in our care has to be paramount and we must ensure that they are looked after properly.'

WRAS is urging people to help out by donating funds so that WRAS can afford to finish off the new hospital started last year and complete works already started, so yet more casualties can be cared for. Anyone interested in volunteering to help WRAS, by offering to rear baby birds or fledglings, being involved in rescue work or helping with fundraising is asked to contact WRAS via email trevor@wildlifeambulance.org.