9 minute read
ANIMAL SOS
Mary recently met some of the patients at Leicestershire’s Wildlife Hospital
LEICESTERSHIRE WILDLIFE HOSPITAl in Kibworth was established in 1984 by Angela Downham. She didn’t realise it at the time but when she found an injured rabbit, this was the beginning of the hospital which today has grown into a £1 million project, the largest wildlife hospital in the area and one of the largest in the country. She couldn’t fi nd anyone to take the rabbit in so took it to the vet herself who told her what to do and how to care for it overnight. If it survived the night she was to bring it back. It did, the vet told her what to do next and she nursed it back to health before releasing it back into the wild. ‘I took it back to where
I found it so it could be with its ‘family,’ she says.
And that was the beginning of the wildlife hospital. The vet realised she was capable and sensible and keen to reintroduce animals back into the wild as soon as they were fi t so started sending injured animals to her. We had a couple a year initially. We had a fox with a broken leg, a couple of birds then slowly more animals kept appearing with people beginning to bring them to us as well. We funded it all ourselves initially, housing the animals in sheds in our back garden.’ says Angela. But eventually, of course, they ran out of space and money.
The ethos and aim of the charity has always been the same, ‘to rescue and rehabilitate sick, injured, distressed or orphaned wild animals and birds within Leicestershire and the surrounding area.’ The aim of the hospital is to provide fi rst aid followed by recuperation and rehabilitation with the eventual release of the animal back into its natural environment as soon as possible. This is of paramount importance to the organisation. Only wild animals are treated and they are to be returned to the wild as soon as they are able to cope. We are not a rescue centre, we are a
Image: Andrew Carpenter
hospital. And we just do not have space to house animals permanently.’ Because they are dealing with wild animals it’s important that they are not handled a lot and human contact is kept to a minimum, for obvious reasons.
Angela started to fundraise with car boot and jumble sales as they were now renting allotments and stables to house the animals so costs were escalating. These were scattered all over the area so it was a lot of work travelling to the animals. And, of course, food and medicines were also needed.
In 1997 they set up a fund to raise money to buy some land to house the animals in the one space. The plan was to stay local. In 2000 they found some land which a local farmer was happy to sell them. But they only had £10,000 and the land was worth £30,000. He waited for them to raise the funds and in 2005 they were able to purchase the three acres from him and got permission to build a wildlife hospital. But first they had to build a road up to it. one of this comes cheap and it wasn’t until 2010 that the hospital was opened.
The land is ideal as it’s at the top of a wheat field, behind Kibworth football ground, tucked away up a long drive with a backdrop of woodland which is ideal for releasing some of the animals into.
The hospital consists of separate areas for di erent animals, so that predators (foxes, badgers and birds of prey) are kept away from the prey animals such as rabbits, hares and birds. There’s a deer enclosure, hand rearing area, wildfowl water spot, treatment areas, isolation cubicles and another area for oiled bird cleaning. And, of course, the hedgehog facilities.
Building is still ongoing. They are expanding the deer facilities to give them more room and concrete has been laid for this. When I visited there were three in residence but over the year they will take in 12 or 13. ’Much of the costs you can’t see,’ says Angela. ‘The concrete costs £38,000, something else £30,000, electrics another huge sum. Money is swallowed up rapidly.’
Fundraising has just started for their new isolation unit which is going to be one of the most critical campaigns
they’ve had as it is vital for their work. They need to raise over £75,000 for bespoke isolation units, a veterinary area and new reception. Because of the increase in avian u cases in the UK they need more isolation units for birds which come in as they have to be isolated for two weeks before they can go into the hospital. At the moment they are not able to take birds as they don’t have room to do this. They will also be able to provide specialist isolation space for badgers, foxes and small mammals that often come in with mange, particularly foxes.
The hospital is open 365 days a year, run by four paid sta and 0 volunteers and they have a couple of vans to do rescues if need be. This doesn’t come cheap so funding is always a worry and an issue, particularly over the last couple of years. Up to 3,000 animals a year come through the hospital and this number is increasing by 15% every year. It costs them £7,000 a month to run the hospital. But somehow they keep going. They rely on donations from the public, including sheets and towels, or money and clothing for jumble sales. They run a small shop at the hospital, organise barn dances and co ee mornings. Local schools and colleges raise funds for them as well. And then there is the friendship scheme. Members of the public can donate monthly this way. Many people who bring an animal in often become a friend or leave money when they drop o . Businesses also get involved donating animal feed and bedding as well as funds.
Unfortunately they are no longer allowed to take squirrels or muntjac because of new licensing laws introduced by DEFRA as they are invasive species and not indigenous. They work closely with the RSPCA who will often bring animals to them as well as rangers from Rutland Water.
They have foxes with mange - straight into isolation for them. They’ve had gannets and oyster catchers which are a long way from the sea but have come from Eyebrook. A hobby was nursed back to health and a night jar that had been caught by a cat was kept until the spring as obviously it couldn’t migrate because of its injuries. A swan had a good hiss at me and there were a couple of deer in residence. Many animals arrive because they have been hit by a car or caught by a cat or dog.
The first 24 hours are always crucial when an animal is brought in ‘and we have a pretty good success rate,’ says Angela. They are also realistic. A bird, particularly a large one such as a swan or goose is unlikely to survive with a broken wing so they do euthanise if there is no hope.
Spring is the busiest time of the year as this is when young animals and babies come a cropper. Some fall out of nests, some get abandoned, others caught and some are mistakenly brought in by concerned members of the public (usually rabbits). If this is the case they are asked to take the animal back to where they found it. Ducklings and baby rabbits are the most common in the spring.
Since 2018-19 the hospital has seen a 60% increase in the number of hedgehogs which makes up about a quarter of all the animals cared for. 2019 was a particularly bad year because it was so wet in the autumn. And the number is still increasing 10% year on year. When I visited in late January they had 200 inmates; there were hedgehogs galore!
Hedgehogs are so prolific because the public are possibly more aware of them and aware that they need care. It is quite common for hedgehogs to be orphaned as the mother will abandon them if she feels under threat. This can happen if you dig your garden and disturb a nest, take a shed down, or similar. It is not unheard of for mothers to eat their young if threatened. Rabbits will do the same, this hides evidence that they have young.
If a hedgehog is born in the autumn it will not have gained enough weight to hibernate over the winter. This means it will not survive. So underweight youngsters are found in the autumn and brought to the hospital. Others are brought in with ringworm and mange; others because of an animal attack, usually by a cat or dog.
The hospital looks after them throughout the winter. Some are allowed to hibernate if they get to a certain weight, usually 600g. The rest of them are kept awake and fed. Once they have gained enough weight and the weather improves in the spring the person who brought them in usually collects them and returns them to their garden (every hedgehog is logged so they know where it has come from and needs to be returned to). Quite often more than one will be returned to a garden as not all can be returned to where they came from; dogs and cats in gardens are obviously a problem.
Now is the busiest time of the year for the hospital, although they are busy all year. They are returning hedgehogs to their natural habitats in order to make room for the plethora of youngsters who will be arriving imminently. If you would like to volunteer or can help with fundraising (follow the link below) you will be very, very welcome.
www.leicestershirewildlifehospital.org.uk or Facebook
