2025/2026 WINTER PLANS…

• The end goal of our ‘Winter Plans’ is to be as ready for Spring/Summer 2026 as we can be, so that we can help even more animals to emergency care next year as we have done this year [774 in 2025 so far.]

• We are also going to be running as many ‘Getting Prepared To Help Wildlife’ Events as we can do - at least one, every ten days or so - so that lots more members of the public know what to do when they find a wildlife casualty/orphan and can act efficiently on behalf of that animal: getting them to high welfare emergency care, ASAP.

• Growing our Driver Database up to 500 Drivers (almost double our current number).

• Setting up Drivers Teams for new Wildlife Care Badge Holders.

• Setting up Drivers Teams for other *proven Wildlife Rescues.

[*proven = a Wildlife Rescue that either has a Vet on site at least once a week - coming directly under Vet supervision - or who is a WCB  Holder.]

• Setting up Drivers Teams for as many Vet Practices as we can, across the UK, to help them to move wildlife on from their Practices to their nearest Rescues, for ongoing care.

• Growing our Driver Database up to 500 Drivers (almost double our current number). - By almost doubling our Driver Database, we will be in a position, by Spring 2026, to make sure that ALL current Teams have all of the Drivers that they need to say ‘yes’ to every transport request.  We will also be able to make some of our currently ‘Inactive Driver Groups’ (Drivers Groups dedicated to local areas, where we are growing the numbers of Drivers in each area before allocating them to support local Vet Practices, as Driver Teams) active & transporting lots of wildlife to ongoing care at local Rescues.

• Setting up Drivers Teams for new Wildlife Care Badge Holders. - As well as running UKWT, I also run the Wildlife Care Badge, without which UKWT couldn’t exist: it is literally the map that we run off - in an otherwise totally unregulated industry - to know where we can confidently take wildlife casualties & orphans to, to get a second chance.  This November we have just welcomed on board a new WCB Holder: Laxey House Bird Rescue.  2 more Wildlife Rescues are also going through the steps of becoming WCB Holders.  Each of these will need their own Drivers Team, to support them, from Spring 2026.

• Setting up Drivers Teams for other *proven Wildlife Rescues. - There’s been quite a few Wildlife Rescues that have come to our attention this Spring/Summer as potentially wanting transport support.  We want to be able to provide Drivers Teams to any of these Rescues who want one, to help them to help wildlife casualties/orphans.

• Setting up Drivers Teams for as many Vet Practices as we can, across the UK, to help them to move wildlife on from their Practices to their nearest Rescues, for ongoing care. - It can be very difficult for busy Vets Practices to treat wildlife casualties (and not just euthanase on arrival) because the casualty will always need to be moved onto a Rescue Centre for longer term rehab afterwards.  By providing Vets with their own list of local Volunteer Transport Drivers (recruited, equipped & funded by UKWT) we support Vets to treat wildlife and then move them out of the Practice site instead of thinking that their only logistical option is to ‘Put To Sleep.’  Equally, as most Vets leave school without much wildlife training (and each wild species requires specialist care) through the Wildlife Care Badge we also make this level of extra support available to all of the Vet Practices who have a Drivers Team (and any who don’t too): HERE.

• Driver Recruitment Adverts (at least £1000 invested into instagram adverts - these have proven VERY effective for us.  See the cost & result analysis HERE).

• Other Driver recruitment efforts, such as posters & other social media reach outs.

• Making sure that we focus (through our Driver recruitment efforts) on ensuring that every current ‘Inactive Drivers Group’ has the numbers needed to provide Driver Teams to local Vet Practices around their areas, before Spring 2026.

• Contacting the *proven Wildlife Rescues to see if they do indeed want a UKWT Drivers Team & getting them set up with one, if so, before Spring 2026.

• Supporting those WCB Holder Applicants who are going through the last steps to becoming WCB Holders, and setting up all new WCB Holders with Drivers Teams (with suitable Driver numbers to always be able to say ‘yes’ to a transport request) before Spring 2026.

• I want UKWT to be as ready as we can be, to give as many animals as possible, a second chance.

• To also ensure that we’re running as smoothly as possible next year (and so that I am not doing 105hrs a week all on my own, during the busier months) I am also looking at raising funds to pay for a part time ‘Drivers Team Officer’ who will help me to oversee all of the different Drivers Teams next year, making sure that new Drivers especially have all of the support they need, to be transporting in the required high welfare conditions.

• We’re also starting to issue all of our UKWT Drivers with special IDs, so all Drivers will have ID as standard, from Spring 2026.  Exciting!