SCORES of injured wild animals who may have faced slow, painful deaths have been rescued by a group of volunteers over the last two years.
From pigeons and gulls to foxes and hedgehogs, volunteers at Worcester Wildlife Watch have taken to the city’s streets in an attempt to help injured animals.
The group is funded entirely by donations, often helping to rescue and transport injured wildlife to nearby vets or the Vale Wildlife Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre.
Recent rescues include a pigeon that was not moving outside Asda in St Martin’s Gate. Volunteers identified that the bird had string around its feet and released the bird there and then.
In another case, volunteers were called to an underweight and dehydrated hedgehog on the side of a main road. It was taken to the Vale Wildlife Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre to be ‘fattened up’ and later released into a garden.
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Sara Lawrence, a volunteer at Worcester Wildlife Watch, said: “We have celebrated our second anniversary.
“The group, made up of volunteers and funded by donations from the general public, was set up to expand on the incredible work already being done by our founding members.
“This includes monitoring local Facebook groups for any posts about injured or sick wildlife, advising on the appropriate course of action, and if necessary, arranging transport of the animals to Vale Wildlife Hospital or local vets for treatment.
“Currently, we have 19 volunteers and have attended 270 call-outs to a variety of wildlife in need, from bats to badgers and foxes to field mice.
“The group is something we are all proud to be a part of; it’s very rewarding to be able to assist vulnerable animals in need.
“Quite a few of our rescues don’t have the happy ending we would hope for; however, it’s still important to get them to a professional to end their suffering in a humane way if deemed necessary.
“The local vets in Worcester are always very helpful and compassionate when we have to make the sad decision to take animals to them for euthanasia, and we appreciate their support very much.”
Worcester Wildlife Watch has asked for potential volunteers to comment on their recent recruitment post on Facebook.
