RSPCA Stapeley Grange wildlife centre in urgent appeal for drivers

RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre in Nantwich is appealing for volunteers to support a new partnership aimed at improving the transport and care of wildlife casualties.

Every year, thousands of injured, sick, and orphaned wild animals rely on quick access to veterinary treatment and specialist rehabilitation.

Increasing demand and recent changes in wildlife services mean additional volunteer support is urgently needed.

As part of the new partnership, staff at Stapeley Grange are working with UK Wildlife Transporters to strengthen the region’s wildlife rescue network.

They are helping transport wildlife casualties from the public or veterinary practices to Stapeley Grange, local veterinary practices, or approved wildlife rehabilitators operating under the Wildlife Care Badge Scheme.

Organisers of the new initiative want to recruit volunteer wildlife transporters living in Chester, Oswestry, Wrexham, Stoke
and Macclesfield.

RSPCA Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre manager Lee Stewart said the scheme will also help tackle the rise in the number of unsuitable and unapproved facilities attempting to rehabilitate injured wildlife.

He said: “This partnership is a hugely important step forward for wildlife rescue across our region.

“By working together with UK Wildlife Transporters and wildlife-friendly veterinary practices, we can ensure injured wildlife reaches appropriate care more quickly and safely.

“It will reduce the number of animals entering these backyard projects and provide a stronger, more visible wildlife rescue network that ultimately reduces animal suffering.

“Our volunteer wildlife transporters play a vital role in animal welfare, helping to transport mammals such as bats, rodents, fox and badger cubs, to nestlings, fledglings, gulls, offshore birds, and smaller waterfowl species.

“By being able to react quickly to an often-changing situation this timely transport can often mean the difference between life and death for an animal.”

Volunteers can offer as much or as little time as they can and will become part of a wider network of trained and supportive wildlife rescuers, who are all part of the extended ‘Stapeley Family’.

They will be requested to transport wildlife in need to an appropriate place of care under the partnership.

Stapeley Grange hopes the collaboration will improve outcomes for wildlife casualties and help protect and strengthen wildlife rescue services across the region.

UK Wildlife Transporters is a non-profit organisation launched in 2020.

It has ferried thousands of animals to wildlife centres and vet practices for emergency treatment.

Lee added: “The work we have done so far with UK Wildlife Transporters has meant we have been able to save the lives of a lot more wild animals.

“There are areas where we have a concentration of volunteers and others where our numbers are low, so we would really like to recruit more volunteers in the Chester/Wrexham/Oswestry area as well as Stoke and Macclesfield.

“As well as a passion for wildlife, volunteers will need to have their own transport and be prepared to purchase a couple of animal carriers (large and small).”

Founder of UK Wildlife Transporters Alana Hurd said: “This partnership with RSPCA Stapeley Grange has had an immediate, noticeable impact on wildlife in the areas surrounding the centre.

“It is helping wildlife on a scale that’s more than I ever hoped for, when we started working together by enabling new ways for these deserving creatures to benefit from expert care, when otherwise they would have missed out.”

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer wildlife transporter, or veterinary practices wishing to become involved in the scheme, are encouraged to get in touch by emailing [email protected]