Who We Are

January 7th 2021: I recently had a comment on my feed that foxes ‘kill for fun’. Do foxes ‘kill for  fun’ ? 'For fun’ is misleading. Most wild animals die of starvation. Most wild vertebrates die of starvation within their first year of life. Let that sink in for a second. So when a fox comes across a shed full of chickens, they will kill them all. If you leave the carcasses, the fox will return and cache the bodies. This will then provide food for weeks in cold climates. Fun is not the right term. Predators are driven to kill when they can - i.e. when you’ve shut a load of prey animals in a  building that they can get into or haven’t shut  your hens away early enough, because they don’t  know where their next meal is coming from. It’s a powerful instinct. They may have ‘fun’ or enjoy  killing, as it’s a powerful evolutionary need for predators to kill in the same way we all enjoy  accessing resources that keep us alive.... like central heating and grocery shops. Remember  these animals have no heating, shops, they have to find, in an increasingly humanised landscape, day on day the food they need to stay alive and many animals go to bed with an empty stomach and don’t wake up the next day. That is why they kill all of your hens. It’s definitely not a joke.

March 25th 2021: Gulls - Free wheelers. Flying rats? No: RARER THAN HEDGEHOGS. These animals are a  red listed species of conservation importance. Why? 90 % of their natural habitat been destroyed and colonised by humans all along  the coasts. The question is on this planet. Who is the parasite?  Who has more entitlement to live?! The answer is that no animal  has more entitlement to be alive than another. Why as a human do you consider you have any more right to live than any other  animal!! So we must be tolerant and find ways to live alongside  other creatures. Even when they are inconvenient. If we can’t live alongside gulls how can we ask Africans to live alongside lions? Or Asians to live alongside tigers? If we can’t find a way we will be living on a very dull and dysfunctional planet indeed Here is a quote from DEFRA April 2020: In January, we announced changes  to licensing for lethal control of herring gull and lesser black-backed gulls, ....This is because of strong evidence of serious population decline in these two species. Our research  indicates that the breeding population of herring gull, a red listed  species, has fallen by 60 per cent since the 1980s, with amber listed lesser black-backed gulls declining by an estimated 48 per cent. 

April 25th 2021: You’re driving home and the car in front hits a young adult fallow deer and then drives off. What do  you do? I received a frantic call at the end of a long and a frantic day last week about this person  pictured below. The woman’s daughter had seen the deer hit and pulled over. She called her mum  who called us at Herefordshire Wildlife Rescue. Luckily next along the road was a local man who  shoots deer as a pastime. Two worlds collide when I ask to speak to him. The woman is desperate to  get the deer to us for help. Different viewpoints in a situation of high tension. The man is polite and  calm and we have a respectful chat despite our different stands on animal welfare. He says he can  be home to get his rifle and back in forty minutes. I agree based on the injuries he describes this is  the best course of action. I also advise that they call the police because we cannot advise members  of the public to wait on a road with the animal. In reality people did wait to ensure that the deer  didn’t run off and hide which would have meant much a much slower and more agonising death. The  man returned and put this animal out of what is clearly misery. Afterwards, when safely back home,  the mum and I exchanged a series of texts. She is pretty traumatised. I tell her her daughter did a good and she must have raised her right! She asks me about the deer I explain that’s he would  probably have been moving in a group and it’s likely that members of his group were nearby. That he  could have jumped the hedge on this side of the road and she said that she drives that road most  days and it had made her think. I am always banging on about it. But slowing down gives these  animals a chance to turn back or wait for you to pass. They have no other planet to live on and have  to share this one with us. This deer was lucky. Some of the animals we see have lived with horrific  injuries for days or weeks. Please slow down for wildlife who must cross the roads in order to simply live their lives.  

August 23rd 2021:  Rufus the red kite has found his feet. This bird was collapsed and unable to move when he came in  to Herefordshire Wildlife Rescue. These birds are symbols of humanities’ ability to do the right thing.  When I was a kid there were 11 of these birds in the whole country. There are now over 2000 pairs in  Britain. This is thanks to a reintroduction programme which Involved multiple charities, zoologists,  bird breeders and land owners. Sometimes we do the right thing. Our rescue have never cared for a  red kite before, despite having dealt with hundreds of bird of prey including buzzards, owls of most varieties, sparrowhawk, a hobby and even a goshawk! We love all our patients equally whether a  pigeon or a rabbit or a rare bird. This one is very exciting! 

September 3rd 2021:  Today we released our last five tawny owls in one of the woodlands where two of the five were  rescued as chicks. A nest box was built by the land manager to replace the tree that was felled with  their nest in. We released all five owls together as they may have formed bonds in the aviary and  because they can support each other in the sense of staying together as a group and some may  possibly pair bond. Tawny owls are very affectionate in captivity and toward their family. They have  multiple calls to communicate different moods and feelings. Herefordshire Wildlife Rescue have  been caring for them since April, feeding them two to four chicks or mice each per day. The owls will  disperse away from the release site possibly in pairs or groups to find territories or feeding grounds.  It is possible that the parents of these birds will recognise their offspring as genetic recognition in  birds has been shown in peacocks that were separated from their parents and brothers as eggs but  then released into the same park: (www.nature.com/articles/43651?proof - in case anyone is  interested!). Under natural circumstances tawnies will tolerate their young in their territory for a fair  length of time after fledging while they continue to feed and show them how to hunt. Tawnies are ‘sit  and wait’ predators in the sense that unlike barn owls which quarter the ground look for prey while  in flight, tawnies sit on branches looking at the ground , and fly down when they spot a meal. Tawny  owls are also known to eat a lot of earthworms in the wild - another reason to eat as much organic  food as possible as this promotes soil health. It’s always incredibly hard for me to release these  animals we have nurtured for so long as I know life in the wild is extremely challenging . I would like  to know they are all safe but they need to live the life they evolved for. It’s was a gorgeous early  autumn evening and the sun had shone all day. Mammal abundance is highest in late summer when  everyone has just been breeding so it’s the perfect time to learn to hunt. Good luck little owls. You  are absolute beauties. 

February 16th 2022: Rosie the Fox. I’ve been caring for this person for a while. She came into Herefordshire Wildlife Rescue from an area of Herefordshire which is heavily hunted. She was found running on a road with her eye torn out and hanging. Her injuries are in line with a terrier attack down a hole as the wound looked gnawed at. A local vet had operated, stitching her through all four layers of the body. Some bone was removed. I washed the wound  remotely, keeping her in wire kennel and using salt water solution to keep it clean. I do this using a syringe and veterinary saline fluids without handling her and cleaned her bed out afterwards. It was messy but avoided stressing her because I didn’t have to keep grabbing and  holding her although foxes are generally quiet  when handled. She had antibiotics twice daily  which she obliged by taking on pieces of meaty  dog food. Now I am monitoring her in a open run  with a hutch to see if there is any neurological  damage from the injury which was obviously very  severe. It is such a responsibility to take care of  an animal with such serious issues and one  capable of living her own completely independent and free life before this catastrophe happened to her. There is duty of care to give the  best treatment you can, to make decisions at  each stage about her well being and whether you  are doing the right thing. She found being in the  dog crate excruciating but she needed warmth  and cleanliness and I needed to be close enough  to ensure the wounds healed. Now she is well on  her way but still needs assessing because she  doesn’t seem normal in her ability to sense her  environment. This could be due to lingering  inflammation and we have decided to give her  longer before considering release. Various  experts say foxes live well with one eye as their  prey seeking is predominantly done using  hearing. Releasing a one eyed fox in a  countryside where hunting is rife feels  unethical…. I try not to hate anyone, but it’s extremely emotive to have to impose oneself on  an animal like this to save its life when the  likelihood is, some other humans have  deliberately done this to her. I know there are  some who will read this who think it’s mad to do  what I am doing. That foxes are ‘vermin’ and  deserve to die. But vermin simply means  ‘wormlike’. It is a word we use to describe animals we find inconvenient or threatening in  some way. But these animals are not evil or  vicious or any of the other unscientific words we  use to describe them. They are simply trying to  live with the only tools they have at their  disposal. My own subjective view is that I find it  utterly bewildering why anyone would want to do  this to one of the most beautiful things I have  ever seen. More beautiful than any sports car or  supermodel or art work. I continue to seek  expert advice to add insight to my own deep ponderings. Meanwhile, Rosie is much happier in her outdoor pen.