WILDLIFE RESCUES: HERE'S THE PROCEDURES TO FOLLOW...

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WILDLIFE RESCUE [TRANSPORT SUPPORT PROCEDURE]​

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*After a Transport has been completed, please delete the name/address/number of the Finder from the WhatsApp group, to meet GDPR requirements.

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Our rules on transporting animals over distances...

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Animal welfare is at the heart of ALL that we do, so we have certain rules that we operate by.  These are:

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- If a wildlife casualty / orphan is with a MOP & you, as a Rescue, have assessed the animal over the phone & believe it to be the right decision that they come straight to your Rescue for treatment, we will transport an animal up to an hour to get the animal to you, direct from the MOP. [We will transport straight to you up to an hour, instead of taking an animal to a Vets first, due to the reality in the UK that most Vet Practices are unable to see a wildlife casualty/orphan quickly enough to justify the stress that the animal would go through, being in a noisy Vet Practice, surrounded by domestic pets that they would view as predators, when they could receive care at a Rescue much faster & in a high welfare environment.]

 

- If the transport is going to be over an hour - unless there is an exceptional circumstance, eg. local Vets refusing to see the animal OR you have seen pictures of the animal & it is definitely just an orphan without any injuries - it is up to you to find a Vet Practice local to the Finder who is willing to see the animal, to assess them & provide pain relief, if necessary, before the animal is transported onwards to you.  [The reason for this is that it is against our welfare policy that we transport an animal in potential pain & discomfort over an hour, without pain relief for the journey].  In these cases, the Driver will pick up from the MOP, take the animal to the Vet Practice, wait with the animal and then drive them further on to you.  It is up to YOU to find & contact the local Vet Practice & organise for them to see the animal & to give pain relief, so that the Driver & animal(s) have as smooth & time efficient an experience as possible: this is not a coordination service that UKWT will provide.

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WHILE I AM AWAY & NOT OVERSEEING THESE TRANSPORTS, NEVER ASK A DRIVER TO HELP TO COORDINATE A TRANSPORT JOB LIKE THIS: THEIR ROLE IS TO TRANSPORT AN ANIMAL FROM TO PICK UP TO DROP OFF, FOLLOWING CLEAR & DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS, NOT TO HELP MAKE IT ALL HAPPEN....

 

Contacting your Volunteer Drivers…

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[BEFORE ASKING FOR TRANSPORT SUPPORT: It is essential that all animals are already safely contained and inside the MOP's home / workplace, away from children and/or pets or inside a Vet Practice.  UKWT Drivers never handle animals - they don't have the necessary PPE or training - and they don't go onto the premises of a MOP.  Here is the Drivers Guidance that all of our Drivers adhere to. ]

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- Message when you need transport support. Try and ALWAYS include a starting and ending postcode as it helps Drivers to quickly understand how long a journey might be and it raises 'yes, I can help' rates a lot.

- Tag the Drivers, asking if anyone is free.  [Eg. "@___ @___ @___ is anyone free to help please?"]. If a Driver can see that that they've been personally tagged in a transport request, they know that it's a message they should definitely respond to, at least saying whether they can help or not.

- Once a Driver has offered to help, provide them with the necessary info (outlined below).

- If you choose to use UKWT during this 'interim period', make sure to take full responsibility for the fact that Drivers are safe...   Ask the Drivers to message in the WhatsApp group as to when they have picked up the animal and when they are home safe.

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Info to give the Driver…

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The address of either the Finder or the Vet Practice (whichever they’re picking up from) and a phone number of the person/Practice that they’re picking up from.​  They MUST have the phone number, to be able to phone the Finder to confirm an ETA and especially for if they get stuck in traffic or struggle to find the property.  For example...

 

You are picking up from [....].  Their full address is...​

 

FULL ADDRESS -

PHONE NUMBER -​

[Add, for confirmation, 'the [animal] is contained and inside'.]

 

[If they are picking up from a MOP, please have already taken the full background info from the finder on the animal (when/where found, what food/drink given etc).  If they are picking up from a Vet Practice, please make sure the Practice have written down all of the background info/medication records that you will need the Driver to bring back with them, if you haven't already taken that info over the phone.]

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[If they are dropping an animal off at the Vets for you, or taking an animal to one of your fosterers, here's an example of the info to provide...​]  

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​[If the Driver is taking FROM the Rescue, TO a Vet Practice, please make sure that you have already agreed in advance with the Vet Practice that they will take and that ALSO the Vet Practice has been given background info on the animal/care/medications etc in advance.]

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You are dropping off at [....].  Their full address is...​

 

FULL ADDRESS -

PHONE NUMBER -​​

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Looking after your Volunteer Drivers…​​

 

When they've completed the transport...  Thank them.  All of the UKWT Drivers have spent their own funds on equipment, tools, hot water bottles and often they choose to cover their own fuel.

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*Again...  All of our UKWT Drivers are given this welfare guidance to follow, during transport, when they join our database: https://www.ukwildlifetransporters.org/guidance-for-drivers