The Wildlife Aid Foundation in Leatherhead is about to enter the most exciting time of year; “Orphan Season”. During the spring months all our native wildlife are busy building nests and dens and burrows ready to greet this year’s batch of youngsters. Spring is a wonderful time for everyone, and our wildlife is no exception!
Sadly however, spring can also be a very traumatic time for the newly born birds and mammals. Parents have to travel further afield to find food for their demanding youngsters, and often have to cross busy roads or venture into the territory of other animals who will defend their ‘patch’ and their own youngsters with understandable ferocity.
This is our busiest time. We receive up to 40 patient admissions every day during Orphan Season, and to give them the food, warmth, care and medicines they need to nurse them back to health can cost us a great deal of money…. Our daily cost to run the centre is £1000! In these financially challenging times it is becoming increasingly difficult to raise the funds needed to keep the centre running. Many wildlife charities have closed their doors in the past few years due to lack of funding, and it is a sad fact that many more will collapse in the next few years, as signs of a recovery are still a long way off.
Those centres, like The Wildlife Aid Foundation which are still open, find themselves dealing with increased numbers of admissions due to the closure of these other centres. As an example, we usually over-winter about 100 hoglets, which are too small to safely survive hibernation. They stay with us until the spring when they can be safely released back to the wild as big health adults. This year we admitted nearly 150 hoglets – an increase of 50% on 2011! Each hedgehog staying for the winter costs £1 a day for medicine, bedding and food – they chomp their way through 10,00 cans food before release!
We are acutely aware that people get bombarded with requests from charities to make donations, and to help their particular cause, and every charity is doing a fantastic and worthwhile job, and need the funding to continue the work that they do. So all we ask is that you consider the plight of our wonderful wildlife, and the dangers that they face, not just during Orphan Season but throughout the year. We are working hard to educate future generations about the care and conservation of wildlife around the world, and our educational programme is reaching out to schools and colleges with talks and presentations to help raise the empathy and understanding that our children have for our native wildlife.
So please consider helping us! If you are able to help with a small contribution every month it really would make the world of difference to the animals in our care. Members really are our lifeline!! Our premier membership is usually £5.00 a month, but for February we are offering this level of membership for just £2 a month!! With Premier membership you will receive a membership pack, with our latest newsletter and lots of other WAF goodies. You will also be able to pre-book tickets for our annual Open Day (this year on July 7th) when you can visit our wildlife hospital for the one day a year that we open to the public. This is something only Premier members are able to do, at least one month before all our other supporters, so you will get the prime tickets for the tours around the hospital. Well worth having, and a fantastic day out for old and young alike!
Please click here to download a Standing Order form, and simply complete and post back to us. Quote promotional code FEB13 in the corner of your form and we will do the rest. You’ll also find other membership and donation options on the website if a monthly donation doesn’t suit you.
Alternatively to give a donation now, text WILD5 to 70300 to give £5 (or text WILD5 to 70500 to give £5 a month).
