Ben Fitzgerald paid a visit to the Oak and Furrows Wildlife Rescue Centre to see first-hand the incredible work being carried out by staff and volunteers to care for wild animals.
I’m sharing a room with approximately 150 sleep-deprived hedgehogs. The little spiky bundles are snuggled in nests of shredded newspaper in a series of individual boxes, each with carefully recorded medical notes.
The majority have been brought in to the Oak and Furrows wildlife rescue centre by concerned members of the public - who have found them wandering about in a confused state when most sensible hedgehogs should be hibernating.
The centre’s founder Serena Stevens explained: “These hedgehogs are too underweight to survive hibernation, so we will look after them over the winter period until we can release them into the wild again. We try to return them to the gardens where they were found because this is the best place for them. Gardeners welcome them because they are a great way of controlling pests, much better than using pesticides all over the place.”
Standing at the end of an anonymous track off the B4040, a collection of buildings houses all manner of recuperating creatures brought to the rescue centre by the RSPCA, the police, members of the public and vets. And in any given year, the centre can expect to take in more than 3,000 wildlife casualties and field more than 7,000 telephone calls from all over Wiltshire and further afield.
Staff member Emma Hickey introduces me to another of the centre’s temporary guests, a female Roe deer, which is being cared for in a clean and spacious hut in the grounds of the centre.
She said: “We think that she may have suffered a head injury, she has most likely been hit by a car and run off into the woods. Often when a deer receives a head injury its eyesight suffers and it takes a while for this to return.”
She added that the deer, which had been brought in to the centre a week ago was showing encouraging signs of recovery, thanks to the devoted care of Oak and Furrows staff.
Among the other animals being cared for at the centre during my brief visit were a badger who was found entangled by barbed wire, a fox who had been suffering from an infection and a kestrel with a broken wing.
The vital work of the centre costs £30,000 a month to run and the service was facing potential closure before Christmas.
Serena explained: “We are desperately in need of support to maintain our service. It would be a shame if we were to close after all these years. We are calling for any support that people can give.”
The Oak and Furrows Rescue Centre was inspired by Serena’s daughter Melissa who found the energy to care for injured animals despite having cystic fibrosis. Melissa sadly died at the age of eight and the charity continues its work as a wonderful legacy for her passion for wildlife.
The centre urgently needs your help to continue its important work
Individuals can support the work of Oak and Furrows by volunteering their time or by making a regular donation or one off payment to the charity by logging on to their website www.oandf.co.uk
The charity, which has poet Pam Ayres MBE and author Daphne Neville OBE as patrons, can also be supported by booking a lecture for schools or community groups in return for a small donation.
Oak and Furrows would also welcome corporate sponsorship or donations.
Contact the charity (registered number 1115926) on their 24-hour landline 01793 751412 and become a friend on facebook ‘Oak and Furrows Wildlife Rescue’.
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