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THANK YOU to all our loyal supporters!

 

THANK YOU to all our loyal supporters
On behalf of all at Secret World, please accept our most sincere thanks to everyone who continued to support us during these difficult months. Because of you, and our dedicated team of staff and volunteers, we’ve been able to keep our doors open for sick, injured and orphaned wildlife every day throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the beginning of the lockdown in March, we admitted close to 2,000 animals and helped hundreds more by providing telephone advice about caring for wildlife casualties to members of the public and veterinary practices when people were unable to travel to bring animals into Secret World.

We’re extremely grateful to everyone who has continued to send in donations, participated in our virtual fundraising events, bid on our online auctions, or even just sent in messages of support to keep up our morale. We’ve been able to care for wildlife that needs our help because people like you have continued to remember Secret World Wildlife Rescue throughout these difficult months. Thank you so much for your support.

Lesley (CEO), Pauline (Charity Founder), Laura (Head of Animal Care) and all the SWWR team
July 2020

 

A Second Chance for Wildlife

Dear Friend

 

A Second Chance for Wildlife

In another couple of months Secret World will be buzzing with the arrival of the orphan season, from baby birds needing to be fed every hour during daylight to, even more tiring, baby mammals that need regular feeds through the night as well!

However, our Wildlife Release Manager, Jamie is already busy as it’s his job to find new homes for our orphans. Adult animals always go back to where they came from but orphans would naturally have to find new territories. Can you help us ensure that there will be homes ready for the orphans? Can you help us keep Jamie on the road with the costs of running our 4 x 4 animal ambulance? We also need the right equipment, such as catching nets, badger cages or wood and netting which is necessary to build new temporary pens.

 

Jamie’s work starts months before the animals arrive at Secret World because release sites for deer, foxes, badgers and otters have to be surveyed and prepared. This is done during the winter months when all the vegetation has died back and it is possible to see tracks and signs of animals that live within the territory. For badgers, this is really important as we cannot release them where other badgers are already living.. It may be that the site is suitable for badgers but it doesn’t contain a disused badger sett or old rabbit warren that the badgers can dig out to make their new home. If this is the case then an artificial sett needs to be created by the Secret World release team and allowed to mature through the summer months, ready to be a suitable home when it is needed in the autumn.

 In the summer and the autumn we need to have temporary aviaries and enclosures in the release locations to move casualties out to once they are in good condition, to enable them to become fit and ready for release. Without these temporary release pens, it means that we would soon  become full on our site and would be unable to take in any further injured or orphaned animal admissions. Also, extra costs for feeding and care are incurred when animals stay on site longer than necessary, so it’s really important to have release sites ready early in the year

  Once ready for release back into the wild, we have to create temporary ‘soft release’ enclosures for foxes and deer to enable them to get used to their new environment before they are given their freedom. Once fully released, they also know that they can return to these enclosures for food that is supplied by Secret World or the landowner until they become self-sufficient. Similarly, pop up aviaries are used as temporary ‘soft release’ enclosures for garden birds and birds of prey. These fold-down to be transported  to the release site, but we always need more of these to ensure birds are released  as quickly as possible. 

 

 

We have found from post release monitoring that this kind of ‘soft release’ is the most successful way of returning our casualties to the wild. It is a safer way of giving them second chance. Please can you help us prepare safe homes for all our orphans this coming year?

 

With best wishes

 

 

 

 

 

Pauline Kidner

Charity Founder and Advisor

P.S. If you are able to donate £1000 and would like to speak  to me personally about how this money would  be used please telephone 01278 786701. . If you believe you may have suitable land for a release of orphans, please let Jamie know on 07488589959

 

 

Charity Shop Volunteers Required

Would you like to help raise funds for Secret World?

We are currently looking for volunteers to help out at our Charity Shop in Burnham-on-Sea. Various shifts required and training provided.

 

The role will involve merchandising and displays, operating the till and assisting customers with purchases.

If you have an interest in retail and are a good communicator we would love to hear from you.

 

Please visit https://www.secretworld.org/volunteer/ to download an application form or call 01278 768703 to speak to Clare Davies.

 

 

New Year Thank Yous 2019!

We would like to thank everyone who took part in the dip in the sea, and everyone who sponsored one of our team.

Seven fundraisers, Pauline, Katie, Jamie, Paul, Thomas, Gemma and Caroline managed to raise £1,000 for us, to help the animals in our care, by getting into the cold water at Lyme Regis on 30th December.

 

We would also like to thank everyone who donated towards our shoe box appeal, we had in excess of 50 boxes, all with some amazing goodies in for the animals.

 

EU Regulation 1143/2014 the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019

EU Regulation 1143/2014 the Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019 will come into force on 28 March 2019, a day before the UK is scheduled to leave the EU. This Regulation will prevent the keeping and release of non-indigenous ‘Alien Species’ such as grey squirrels and muntjac deer.

 

At present Natural England issues licences to allow for these animals to be kept and released in areas of England where they pose no threat to native species. This system has worked well for many years. Most large wildlife rescue centres in the south of England are licensed to treat and release, once healthy, set numbers of these animals, many of which are orphans, rescued by concerned members of the public. At the end of March however, under the new EU system, all rescue centres and veterinary surgeons in the UK will be required to euthanise animals bought to them. The result will be that any member of the public who finds a grey squirrel, muntjac deer or other ‘alien species’ and takes it to a centre will either be turned away, or the animal will be euthanised, no matter how healthy it is.

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Don’t Forget About Vulnerable Wildlife this Bonfire Night

If you are having a bonfire this weekend, make sure you check for hidden wildlife before you strike a match, says one of the UK’s leading animal rescue charities.

Secret World Wildlife Rescue  is urging people to take two minutes out of their day when building a bonfire to think about any wildlife that could be lurking in heaps of wood and debris, particularly if the bonfire has been sitting about for a week or two.

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Leverets Set to be Let Loose in the Wild Again

  

Half a dozen leverets are nearly ready to be released after being nursed back to health by animal care experts at Secret World Wildlife Rescue in East Huntspill, Somerset.

The group of six baby hares is made up of four siblings and two other leverets rescued separately by the animal charity. The four baby leverets were originally rescued after they were found next to the body of their dead mother.

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Grounded bat will fly again

A bat found on the ground in a car park will take to the skies again thanks to the treatment it received at Secret World Wildlife Rescue. The brown long eared bat was looked after by staff at Secret World Wildlife Rescue in East Huntspill. Thanks to their care and expertise it will soon be free to fly again.

The adult bat was found lying very flat in a car park in Highbridge. Workers from nearby company Eaton Controls UK called Secret World for advice, and a volunteer response driver was dispatched to pick it up.

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