RSPCA Stapeley Grange Spring Newsletter 2017

SPRING NEWS 2017

8 Otter cubs and counting A busy time for the team

Fishing litter kills Almost a weekly occurrence

The University of (Wild)Life Training opportunities for vets at Stapeley Grange

Other News Wildlife Hospital, Cattery, Education and Fundraising

Spring Newsletter 2017 Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre and Cattery

Contents  Welcome Crash-landed Grebe  8 Otter cubs and counting  Nantwich Coffee Morning  Stapeley Grange Blog  Wildlife Club  Fishing litter kills  The University of (Wild)Life  My intern journey with Stapeley – Ali Pelisiak  Staff Training @ East Winch  Wildlife Club  Charlie Pass, Education Officer, heads South like our swallows  Experience Days @ Stapeley  Cattery News  Cats for adoption: Sapphire, Minnie, Binks and Skippers.  Wildlife Rehab Courses  Fundraising News  Winter Fair  Sainsbury‟s customer support  Say NO to the badger cull

Welcome.......

As prepared as I feel we are for the busy Spring and Summer months ahead, I am feeling a little apprehensive about how the year will pan out.

Robert Burn‟s famously wrote about „the best laid plans of mice and men‟ and that no matter how carefully a project is planned, something may still go wrong! The winter period is usually not a busy time for incoming animals (compared to the Spring and Summer at least) but there is always lots going on. The team have been busy cleaning (lots of cleaning!), repairing, rebuilding, redesigning equipment, aviaries and enclosures, reviewing last years activities and fine tuning how the Centre runs. I think we are almost ready....but only time will tell if our plans have been best laid!!

Although Winter is generally a quieter period, the team were kept relatively busy with hedgehogs before Christmas (like most wildlife centres were) and are now currently dealing with six orphaned seal pups (five grey and one common) and eight (yes 8!) otter cubs, on top of the usual suspects. It‟s fairly scary at the moment when I‟m passed the invoice for the weeks fish order of mackerel and trout. A bill that will rise over the coming weeks and months as their appetites grow, although some will be moving on to other Centres.

Readers seeing pictures of our pups and cubs may well think they are the cutest, cuddliest animals ever and that „butter wouldn‟t melt‟ but both species can be quiet ferocious. Even little Daffi who arrived mid February (pictured on the front page), just weeks old from Staveley Chesterfield, is as wild as you like and would try and take a chunk out of your finger if given a chance, purely in defence obviously.

However, as wildlife rehabilitators we see that this aggression and „wildness‟ is a good thing and that we are doing our job.

Our cattery team are also in a „quiet before the storm‟ phase, an annual occurrence, just after the post Christmas rush of cats. The team should however enjoy the moment as the storm will come. We shall soon be promoting our cats and kittens like the „New Year Sales‟ so that we re-home as many as possible which in turn allows us to accept even more cats from the Inspectorate field teams.

Minnie – one of our long stay cats that needs re-homing

'If you would like to support the work of Stapeley Grange with a donation of just £3, simply text RSPCA2 to 70007‘ Texts cost £3 + standard network rate

One of six seal pups at Stapeley adding to the weekly fish bill

Some important things to remember this Spring • Wildlife will always do better in the wild, with their parents.

• Some parents e.g. deer and rabbits will leave their young for long periods during the day to feed.

• Fox and badger cubs will often explore away from their dens when old enough, away from their parents.

• Parents of new borns are usually close by and probably waiting for you to move on before returning to feed.

• A fully feathered bird (fledgling) may just be test flying. If it is in any immediate danger (roads or cats) move to somewhere safe close by and leave.

• If the animal is obviously injured or needs help call the RSPCA or your local wildlife rehabilitator.

RSPCA National Call Centre 0300 123 4999

This Grebe (pictured below) was found crash landed on a road next to a lake in Wybunbury and brought in by an Officer. Sometimes when rain falls onto roads it resembles bodies of water when the birds are flying over, they become confused. Fortunately this individual only received small scrapes under it‟s feet. After two days of pain relief the bird was washed and fitted with a BTO ring. We then tested the birds waterproofing for a few days and after the feathers looked good we organised release back to a water source close to where it was found.

Rob Whitehouse, Wildlife Assistant

8 otter cubs and counting!!

It has been a crazy few months with the arrival of eight otter cubs from all over the country. They have arrived via our officers, from as far as Bolton Le Sands (Lancashire), Llandysul (Dyfed), Staveley (Derbyshire) and Penmaenpool (Gwynedd).

They have found themselves orphaned because their mum has either been killed or they have been separated from their mothers during storms and heavy rain that has led to flash floods and their being washed downstream.

The cubs are always monitored in the field just in case mum does turn up but sadly more often than not they do have to come in. It is a very long process to rehabilitate an orphan otter cub so such a decision to pick one up in the wild is never taken lightly.

As well as the costs, which can include a £3000 food bill for a single pair of cubs, it is also the 12 month period they are in care for. Rehabilitators countrywide are faced with a lack of facilities able to see them through to release and those that can are faced with many days finding suitable release sites and running soft release programmes to return them back to the wild.

Daffi was by far the smallest arrival of the eight; so small in fact that she was initially housed in an incubator. She was initially syringe fed puppy milk supplement but has now been moved on to chopped up trout and milk – check her out this video of when she was syringe fed - https://youtu.be/Ku3LpXqUN_M. We have an additional three in isolation and four outside. Whilst our outdoor otters will remain with us until they are released at the end of the year we are hoping to move four of our cubs, including Daffi, to the New Forest Wildlife Park which is located in Southampton: http://www.newforestwildlifepark.co.uk/ They will eventually come back to us for release so Rob Scrivens (Supervisor) will soon be preparing for the release of all eight otter cubs back to the wild, which will be no easy task.

Daffi, days after arriving

Incubator setup

Isolation setup

Outside enclosures

'If you would like to support Stapeley and our otters cubs with a donation of just £3, simply text RSPCA2 to 70007‘ Texts cost £3 + standard network rate One of two otter cubs thatyear arrived 'We had a fab 3 days filming with RSPCA. We were filming for Springwatch Unsprung. This we'refrom supporting the BBC's campaign to 'Do Something Great', basically by volunteering. So I got theOswestry long straw and did my volunteering at Stapeley Grange. I think they really threw me in at the deep end and got me doing everything from cleaning out the slightly smelly fox cubs to helping to X ray a goose, from swanning around helping to weigh the swans to hand feeding abandoned starlings. The variety of wildlife that came in during the 3 days we filmed was a real surprise and the centre was constantly busy. I thoroughly enjoyed my 3 days, it was extremely satisfying helping British wildlife in need and meeting the fab staff and volunteers. Keep up the good work, I'm sure as the Spring progresses, it'll get even busier.’ Michaela Strachan

Stapeley Grange Blog www.stapeleygrange.blogspot.com Catherine Smith and Jenna Haslam With almost 23,000 visitors to the site to date from 10 countries around the world, including China, Mauritius and Poland, our blog is definitely worth following!!

Tuesday, 14 March 2017 – 4 Blind Mice During my time here I've come to realise that we really do care for pretty much all forms of wildlife, from the great to the small.

Most recently our tiniest additions were a group of woodmice.

When they arrived they were in a poor state, very cold and skinny, with their eyes still closed.

Friday, 10 March 2017 – Cubs Galore!

I was also lucky enough to be in for the arrival of a tiny badger.

The centre had previously cared for young badgers, the smallest weighing 350g but this baby was only 94g!! She was aged at only a few days old so after a few frantic calculations a feeding plan was drawn up and she was given milk formula every two hours.

Luckily, she took to the syringe well and had a healthy appetite.

Wednesday, 21 December 2016 – Swans a plenty at Stapeley - The cygnet was extremely underweight when he arrived, weighing only 4.3 kg. There was however a swelling on its wing joint. On further investigation the x-ray showed that there was no serious damage; it was prescribed oral antibiotics, some pain relief and given plenty of food

Saturday, 26 November 2016 – Today gets the seal of approval - It was feisty, as expected and made noises I'd never heard an animal make before. Staff here receive lots of training with seals as although they look cute they can give you a nasty bite, apparently. The seal is tube fed five times a day and is currently being fed a mixture of lectade which is a re-hydration therapy with aqua-vitamins and fish soup which is blended mackerel.

Help Stapeley raise more money for the animals by recycling your old clothes and shoes via our recycling bins, found outside the cattery.

Fishing litter kills.....

Admitting swans and other waterfowl with injuries caused by discarded fishing litter is, unfortunately, a common occurrence here at Stapeley Grange and most wildlife centres across the country. Fishing line, with or without weights attached, can get wrapped around the limbs and other body parts of the bird and, if not caught early enough, can lead to severe wounds that can be irrecoverable.

This was the case of a juvenile Mute swan (cygnet) that arrived at the hospital at the beginning of February. He was very reluctant to stand and walk, and upon a closer examination the reason became evident. A large amount of fishing line was wrapped around its right leg, with part of the line looping around its neck, so every time he walked further tension was exerted and the line around the leg became tighter and tighter. By the time he arrived, the line had practically reached the bone; the wound was severely infected and presented a large inflammatory reaction. After discussing with the veterinary team it was agreed that this swan could never regain good use of it‟s leg, and on welfare grounds he was humanely euthanized.

‘By the time he arrived, the line had practically reached the bone’ Such sad stories really upset the team and only highlights the importance of proper and responsible disposal of fishing lines, hooks and weights. These beautiful animals are part of our natural riches, and it should be everyone‟s responsibility to avoid reckless behaviours that inflict unnecessary pain to any living being. I just wish those discarding the litter could witness and experience the end result of their laziness, maybe they would then make more of an effort to retrieve their discarded property.

Fortunately, not all cases end so sadly! At the end of January, we admitted another juvenile swan facing some difficulties. The animal was bright and alert, but had ingested some fishing litter, and a large 15g weight was attached to a line hanging from itâ€&#x;s beak. Our main concern in such situations is that there could be a hook attached to the line, and that the hook has perforated the oesophagus which can lead to serious damage. However, after some quick xrays, we were relieved to see that there was no hook. This meant we could slowly and carefully pull the very long line out of the cygnet!

After a full physical exam, the young swan proved to be extremely feisty and healthy so we were happy to quickly release it back to its family, the perfect result for the cygnet and our team!

Swans are a regular admission to Stapeley; in 2016 we received 346 swans. As well as obvious fishing litter issues, many arrive poisoned with lead. Swans are more likely to be affected by lead poisoning because of the way they feed. Their long necks allow them to reach down to the bottom of water sources to feed which is where they pick up old discarded fishing lead weights.

Affected swans can be successfully treated with EDTA. Dr. Sara Abreu, DVM MSci MRCVS

clips of some of Stapeley Grange’s animals Otter time - Santon and Storm at play and Orphaned otter cubs Fox cub feeding time: and Fox cub kiss chase Great crested grebe, Gulls galore and Some hungry jackdaws Some cheeky little polecats and Weasel orphan Common buzzards chicks and Cygnets in need of TLC Hoglet feeding time, Leveret release and not forgetting our Orphaned storm seals and Daffi, our latest orphaned otter cub

The University of (Wild) Life Injured and sick wild animals, are most commonly picked up by members of the public and taken to a vet practice. However, many vets in practice have very little experience working with British wildlife species, and the prospect of being responsible for their care can be rather daunting.

Naturally the needs of wild birds and hedgehogs, the most commonly seen species, are somewhat different to the typical cats and dogs that vets will be used to seeing. The RSPCA picks up thousands of wild animals from vet practices every year, and sadly, all too often their injuries and illnesses have not been detected, and they have not received the right treatment – not for a lack of caring, but for a lack of general understanding in wildlife medicine.

This stems from the shortage of training in these areas in the vet degree.

Stapeley Grange Wildlife Hospital has a long history of supporting college and veterinary training through placements and work experience within the wildlife centre – and since April 2014, has been working in partnership with the University of Liverpool, School of Veterinary Science to support undergraduate veterinary training in exotics and wildlife. In addition to the unarguable value of teaching vet students the basics of wildlife medicine, it is also important for Stapeley to support vets already working in practice, especially those who are keen to do more for wild animals in their care. We run regular professional development events for vets and vet nurses in practice, to help veterinary professionals better understand their role and the skills required for managing wildlife patients.

In particular, we also run an internship programme, which is for qualified vets, from the UK and Overseas, who have a particular interest in British wildlife medicine and surgery. This is a year long training programme which gives vets access to a huge caseload of British wildlife as well as training from experienced wildlife vets and staff. Stapeley‟s interns get involved with all aspects of wildlife medicine and rehabilitation as well as assisting with the onsite cattery and the local ferret and rabbit rescues the Centre works with.

A visiting wildlife vet coming to build experience.

Post mortems with the Liverpool vet students

Intern – Dr. Pelisiak with a deydrated hedgehog

Intern – Dr. De Greef with a dogged swan

With a caseload of over 6,000 animals per year, the veterinary interns very quickly become competent in the basic skills, and Stapeley are firm believers of the ‘see one, do one, teach one’ model of education. After working in the Centre for a couple of months, and once they have mastered the basics, the interns become more involved with the student teaching sessions, to pass on some of their new found knowledge and skills. All vets have different areas of particular interest, and veterinary interns will prepare a teaching session to deliver to the students on a topic they are interested in, such as pathology, medicine, or a certain species. They also run practical sessions for the students, in basic ‘day one’ skills and supervise the student groups with tasks such as post mortem examination, x-ray positioning and wild animal handling.

After a period of intensive training, including lectures, practicals and seminars, the interns begin to take on responsibility for their own cases. After specific wildlife pathology and post mortem examination training, they also conduct a large proportion of the post mortems, supervised and supported by more experienced vets.

Interns Dr. De Greef and Dr Athin working on a badger

On top of the more formal training positions, Stapeley regularly welcomes vets from other rehabilitation centres and from veterinary practices, who are keen to broaden their knowledge of wildlife medicine. They will often come and shadow the vets at Stapeley for a few days or weeks, to build their own confidence and learn skills and techniques that they can take away any apply to their own patients.

‘Who knows what the future of wildlife education in the veterinary curriculum in the UK will be, but Stapeley are extremely proud to be contributing to the veterinary profession in this way’ Who knows what the future of wildlife education in the veterinary curriculum in the UK will be, but Stapeley are extremely proud to be contributing to the veterinary profession in this way. The staff are incredibly passionate about their work and by passing on their skills and experience in this manner, can make a much bigger difference to the welfare of wildlife, than just by treating the animals that pass through Stapeley Grange alone.

Dr. Bev Panto , Veterinary Officer BVetMed BSc (Hons) CertAVP (ZooMed) MRCVS

Intern – Dr. Pelisiak enjoying a ‘swift’ release

My intern journey with Stapeley....

I will always remember April 2016 as one of the most exciting months of my life; finally I would have a chance to work with wildlife. My ambition has always been to direct my career path into something more than working with domestic animals. I have completed a number of externships around the world but my next step was in wildlife veterinary medicine. The clinical internship at Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre was perfect.

Every day brought me new challenges and dealing with birds, reptiles, mammals and even invertebrates, made me fully understand and apprecciate the diversity of British wildlife. The team have to make many difficult decisions, almost daily, and as vets we are tasked with developing treatment plans. With help from experienced staff my confidence grew with time, allowing me to confidentally make decisions on my own; the whole reason I took the internship in the first place.

Working in a wildlife centre differs a great deal from what vets are used to do in private practice.

Our clinical caseloads depends upon the season and on weather conditions; juveniles and adult animals that for some reason can‟t cope. Some of them are victims of wildlife human conflict and when we feel an animal can‟t be returned to the wild, our job is to put them to sleep so that we reduce suffering. We are also midful of stress when we are dealing with wild animals, very different to treating domestics. Our responsibility, as vets and rehabilitaors, is to provide a second chance to those who can be returned to the wild which helps to keep the balance with nature.

Following my nine months at Stapeley I now carry a bag of experience and knowledge that I can apply in becoming a better phisician. We vets, can change the world we are living in to a better place by caring for those animals that don‟t belong to anyone, but everyone. We are surrounded by wildlife we admire and our duty is to respect the diversity and the good that it brings to us.

I would like to thank all the RSPCA staff and other interns for their support and trust in helping me to develop as a wildlife vet. It‟s been an amazing experience and I will never forget what I have learned from you all.

Dr. Alicja Pelisiak, DVM MRCVS

Ali releasing a swift

Staff training @ East Winch Wildlife assistants, Sophie and Rob, recently made a trip to Norfolk to visit another of the Societies hospitals, RSPCA East Winch - https://www.rspca.org.uk/local/east-winchwildlife-centre/

The purpose of their visit was for Sophie, as a new member of staff, to train to care for and handle seals (which can sometimes prove to be tricky and a bit slippery!) and for Rob to build on his skills as a British Trust of Ornithology (BTO) ringer.

'It is good to work in other centres, because together you can share your ideas and techniques in order to improve the welfare of the animals in our care. Ultimately, it’s all about giving our animals the best chance of survival after release‘ Rob Whitehouse

Rob homing his ringing skills

It‟s always a great opportunity for staff to visit other hospitals as it allows them to learn new skills, hear about fresh ideas and share experiences with other colleagues. Visiting East Winch also allowed Sophie and Rob to learn much more than first intended with them learning more about bat care, how best to use facilities, housing hedgehogs and substrate for waterfowl, all of which were topics of discussion at Stapeley previously; a fresh perspective on these subjects turned out to be really helpful.

Sophie tube feeding a seal pup

"Going to East Winch gave us some fresh ideas and it was a great chance to network with other centre staff“ Sophie Sneddon The trip was a great success with Sophie really getting to grips with the rehabilitation of seals and rob learning more about ringing birds (as it can be a very delicate process!). They also came back with lots of new ideas and were grateful to have had the opportunity to build new relationships with colleagues and work alongside the fantastic team at East Winch.

The next step is for a seal pup is force feeding whole fish

Next Lynsey and Jenny will be heading to RSPCA West Hatch in Somerset. They will be spending time with colleagues; their target species for discussion

Charlie Pass, Education Officer, heads South like our swallows, for a warmer climate I‟d like to think of myself as a bit of a self-proclaimed „Naturalist‟ listening out for and identifying bird song, sniffing out animal poop, selective fungi taste tests etc. You get the picture…...a bit of a geek! So when I arrived at Lilongwe Airport (Malawi), one of the first things I see chasing the sky above the arrival/departures/control tower were swallows. Think now Charlie...it‟s December 19th and in Malawi its 28 degrees in the shade, 5000 miles away in Cheshire it is possibly 4 degrees tops. Could these be Cheshire‟s swallows, migrated south and waiting to greet me?

‘Could these be Cheshire’s swallows, migrated south and waiting to greet me?’

Personal loss and challenge, kindness and friendship led me to signing up to a volunteering position with the Lilongwe Wildlife Centre (LWC). Sold on the fact that I would be caring for orphaned wildlife casualties and supporting their Education team, a particular passion of mine and something I know a little about. LWC is the flagship centre for Lilongwe Wildlife Trust, which was established in 2008; both the Trust and its centre are dedicated to protecting Malawi‟s wildlife and its habitats. The centre provides sanctuary and specialist care for animals rescued by the Government, primarily innocent victims of an illegal wildlife trade. The centre is also the country‟s largest conservation education facility. There is so much to tell you about my nine weeks in Malawi, so writing it down poses a challenge in itself but you will be pleased to hear that this is the condensed version!

Thousands of visitors arriving at Malawi‟s only wildlife rescue centre are introduced to the Centre‟s residents Simba and Bella, two impressive lions that were rescued from appalling zoo conditions in Europe and subsequently relocated home. Visitors are taught about the fantastic animal welfare work undertaken at the centre and further afield across Malawi. One of the towering strengths of the Trust is undoubtedly their education programmes.

Delivered through the country‟s capital Lilongwe and through rural communities throughout Malawi, the education team and its volunteers are now engaging with up to 35,000 young people and adults each year.

Taking responsibility to advocate key messages about Malawi‟s wildlife and tackling critical issues that are responsible for the loss of bio-diversity. The centre is also involved in training teachers and creating (and funding) practical solutions that can support communities and the environment they live in.

The LWC is set in 60 hectares of stunning mixed woodland, in the city centre.

I was humbled and privileged to accept an invitation to advise and contribute to the education departmentsâ€&#x; strategic vision and module programmes. I was also involved in leading education workshops and community events. Arriving at primary and secondary schools was incredible and I very much aware of the challenges that young people face out there. These are children who are very fortunate to be in school, who show respect and are eager to listen and participate. They were equally as excited about receiving a class lesson from a foreign face – a Masungu (Swahili for white person which is used everywhere). Many children born into a rural village will not receive any formal education but the team are working hard to find ways around this.

Deforestation is a major concern. Trees provide charcoal which provides heat for warmth and cooking. Deforestation of land means the staple crop of maize can be grown

Just one of many orphaned primates at the Centre

Deforestation is a major concern. Trees provide charcoal which in turn provides heat for warmth and cooking.

Cutting trees down also frees up land that enables them to grow their staple crop maize. However, trees are needed to prevent soil erosion and flooding and whilst it is illegal to cut timber, the resources made available to officials to manage deforestation is a „token‟ effort. The LWC co-ordinates and delivers tree planting programmes, engaging community members to plant trees and to protect those remaining from being cut down.

Tree planting with a community

The impact of deforestation is abrupt and devastating. I actually witnessed first hand an extreme flood at the Centre which in turn brought pollution, health issues and of course a loss of habitat for wildlife. Although this Centre is fully protected, the LWC cannot control what happens upstream.

The education team continually seek to embrace new initiatives and reach out to new communities. Schemes have also been set up to encourage communities to get involved in programmes that reduce the use of charcoal.

These schemes are in their infancy but they are effective; the construction of paper briquettes is just one alternative solution to cutting down trees.

„Malawi gets under your skin. It awakens your senses. It‟s warmth and innocence is charming.‟

My attempting to make paper briquettes from recycled paper

I cannot shout enough about the work carried out by the Lilongwe Wildlife Trust in their efforts to combat and rationalise events, largely attributed to „Man. These events are occurring 5000 miles away, in a country very different to ours but yet there are so many similarities with regards the issues we are both tackling.

I have been asked so many times „what was it like‟? I can simply answer this with by simply saying that (as I still try to get my head around what I have experienced) „It has been the most life changing and humbling experience of my life‟

Simba is one of the big attractions of the Centre

I urge you to see the areas and impact the Trust is making at their website; http://www.lilongwewildlife.org.

Experience Days @ Stapeley With an 18+ policy on volunteering in the wildlife hospital we were keen to create a programme that would enable those not old enough and maybe those that just want to spend a single day with the team to do so.

Beccy Pickering arrived in January not knowing what to expect. She appeared to leave very happy with her experience.

Thank you so much for a brilliant day at Stapeley, everyone was so welcoming and eager to share their knowledge with me!

I particularly enjoyed seeing the otters, it was a magical experience to see them and one I did not think that I would ever get the chance to. I also loved seeing all the hedgehogs as they have always been close to my heart.

Thanks again to you and the team for such an enjoyable day, it was lovely to see all the great work you all do.

For more information on the programme contact: Lee.stewart@rspca.org.uk

CATTERY NEWS The team are often faced with a small number of cats that for one reason or another have not been adopted and find themselves being labelled as ‟long stayers‟. We never give up and we will find the perfect match and that loving forever home. As well as our wanting to rehome in pairs sometimes and a cat‟s general appearance, for example we find that black cats seem to be less popular than other cats, a cat‟s behaviour may make or break whether he or she is adopted quickly. The cattery team have however found that a cat‟s behaviour can totally change when placed in a suitable environment, something that potential cat adopters should remember when choosing a family cat.

The team will spend as much time with a cat as possible and will provide all it‟s veterinary and daily requirements but we can not replicate a home environment. To some cats their short stay with us may seem like a jail sentence with their not being to get out and explore, so it must be very frustrating. Whilst some may cope with the 5 star hotel treatment others may not. A lot may also depend upon the history of the cat and he/she may just need time to mentally recover.

Here are some of our long-stay residents we have in our care at the moment. Why not pop down and take a look, we are open 11.30am – 3.30pm, Tuesday – Sunday.

WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Sapphire...............

WEBSITES AND SOCIAL MEDIA

Wildlife:

Wildlife: www.rspca/stapeley-grange-wildlifewww.rspca/stapeley-grange-wildlifecentre centre

Cattery: Cattery: www.rspca/stapeley-grange-cattery www.rspca/stapeley-grange-cattery Follow us @ Follow us @ RSPCA-Wildlife

RSPCAStapeley

Stapeley Grange You Tube:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/U C9I3pW2N0h07gHk75hz59-g

„In my short life I have had a bit of rough time and have been pushed from one home to the next. Honestly, with my paw on my heart, I can say it was not my doing but as a result of my being unwanted I am now a little wary of people. I will therefore need an experienced owner to love and care for me.

I would ideally suit a home without any young children or any other pets. So could you be that special someone to give me that forever home that I have always wanted and deserved?

To donate £3 to RSPCA Stapeley Grange and our work, simply text RSPCA2 to 70007„ Texts cost £3 + standard network rate

Minny.................

I'm Minnie and I'm looking for a new home. Just to warn you...I can be a little unpredictable but I like to think it keeps things interesting and all the staff here on their toes!! I am an outgoing girl who likes to play and I love exploring outside too.

At the age of two I am still very young so I think I will need an experienced owner to mould me into a much loved family cat. I would love to be the only pet as I'm not too keen on dogs or other cats.

I would also like a home with mostly adults but I guess I could live with teenagers; definitely not young people. Please come and see me as I am here ready and waiting.

Your £80 (£90 for a kitten) adoption fee covers his/hers neutering, micro-chip and vaccinations. Plus you are giving a rescued cat a 2nd chance...so why not adopt? It makes sense.

Binks and Skippers............ „Binks in Italian means a „swell looker‟, and I must say I am handsome with my beautiful black fur coat. Skipper has some unusual markings too which I think makes us a beautiful pair. We are both young cats, approximately a year old, but if I were honest we are both a little shy, at least initially anyway.

We are sure to overcome this shyness with a little patience and an encouraging owner. The ideal home for us would be a quiet one, preferably with no young children. We would ideally like to be the only pets and most importantly we would need to go to our new home together. Could you offer us that special home we are looking for?‟

External Rehabilitation Courses Over the past five years Stapeley, supported

by RSPCA Inspectorate trainer Insp. Richard Seddon, has been running two wildlife rehabilitation courses, one suited to vets and vet nurses, the other for non veterinary individuals who may be working with wildlife, teaching wildlife related courses or may simply have an interest in wildlife rehabilitation. The courses are also used as a training platform for the Centreâ€&#x;s own longer term students and volunteers. The training is essential if we are to provide suitably trained students to support our staff during the busy Summer months.

The two courses have grown in popularity, so much so, that we are now looking to establish four courses a year, two at the end of January and two mid October.

So what does the wildlife rehabilitation course cover? To start with a general overview of the RSPCA and Stapeley Grange.

We then cover bird identification, how animals should be transported, initial triage, feeding and caring for wildlife casualties short and long term, zoonotic diseases, accommodation and how we control the environment.

There is no contact with the animals (for obvious reasons) but we do run practical

sessions in the hospital that include crop tubing, wing bandaging and a more hands bird identification session which is always very popular.

The course also looks at the Animal Welfare and Wildlife and Countryside Act, including what you need to know about the law when it comes to wildlife rehabilitation. We also take a brief look into what is and what isnâ€&#x;t wildlife crime when it comes to bird trapping, shooting and the use of snares and traps.

We even touch on the importance of data collection, how we present it and how we can use the data to improve the way we manage and care for our wildlife casualties.

The vet / vet nurse course covers many of the same topics but also includes practical radiography sessions. The course also covers, parasitology, stabilisation and euthanasia, diagnostics and therapeutics, wildlife anaesthesia - monitoring, techniques & species differences.

An additional bonus to our running the courses is that we are to develop new contacts (and friends), which is critical in our line of work, long term.

RSPCA Wildlife Rehabilitation Courses Course Programmes Led by Richard Seddon - RSPCA Superintendent for Training Dr. Bev Panto - Veterinary Officer – RSPCA Stapeley Grange

Course contributors: Lee Stewart (Centre Manager), Wendy Burrows (Supervisor), and Robert Scrivens (Supervisor), Robert Whitehouse (Wildlife Assistant), Wendy Hawley (Vet Nurse) and Nicola Ryan (Vet Nurse)

Wildlife Rehabilitation Courses (Vet / Vet Nurse)

Wildlife Rehabilitation Courses

16th - 17th October 2017 & th th 29 - 30 January 2018

18th – 20th October 2017 & 31st January – 2nd February 2018 “The course for me was a solid foundation to build on. A great overview of everything that goes with wildlife rehabilitation” Chris Mather “An enjoyable, informative and worth while 3 days well spent. Would highly recommend the course” Helen Thewsey, Cambria College “Really enjoyed the course, some sessions could have been longer.

The course could have been 5 days” Fran Hill, Cuan Wildlife Hospital “A fantastic course, I learnt so much on the course which will help me during my year long placement at Stapeley” Catherine Smith, Student Placement

Contact Lee via e-mail: lee.stewart@rspca.org.uk or phone: 0300 123 0722

Fundraising News......

Whilst the charity pays for the day to day running costs of Stapeley Grange (all through charitable donations), there are often items that the team need but that maybe beyond the RSPCA‟s budget, which is where the fundraising group step in to give a helping hand. This helping hand could mean the buying of vital equipment that needs replacing or raising funds for new upgrades that would significantly aid the team in continuing the vital work they do at Stapeley.

Over the past 4 years the Fundraising Group has worked hard to raise as much money as possible to help the animals in the wildlife hospital and cattery. We have purchased a number of traps to help our inspectors and staff humanely catch stray and injured cats, with the least stress possible. We have provided cat activity centers for the cattery to help keep cats and kittens occupied whilst they wait patiently for their forever homes as well as heat pads to help keep our feline visitors warm overnight! We have also purchased vital pieces of cleaning and hospital equipment for the wildlife hospital and helped to fund one off items in the education center and helped to cover running costs of the programme, which aims to educate children of all ages about animal welfare and local wildlife and environmental issues such as litter and pollution. This is a small insight into the many ways the group supports the center and the items we have supplied. This can‟t be done without your continued support and we would like to thank all of you that havesupported us over the past 4 years whether it be attending our events, donating items for us to sell or to use as prizes or your time to help us raise these funds.

Christmas Fair 2017.......

We had our annual Christmas Fair again at the end of last year, which as always was well attended, and a great day out for all the family. We had father Christmas stop by and he was really pleased with his new grotto which Howden‟s joinery helped fund, thank you Howden‟s! We would also like to thank Cat Radio for their support at our events, rain or shine Kev comes to join us and keep us all smiling with his tunes! Overall we managed to raise a total of £1300, which was a great way to finish off 2016, bringing our total for the year to £8750.

This year we hope to make our events bigger and better and would appreciate your support! Our Fundraising Group is always looking for volunteers with new ideas or even people who could help out setting up / tidying away or baking the odd cake or two! If you are interested in joining our fundraising group please email: Samantha.taylor@rspca.org.uk.

Thank you!

Sam

Sainsbury’s customer support Sainsbury‟s, in Nantwich, Middlewich Road, has a dropoff point in the store for people to donate cat and dog food to Stapeley Grange Wildlife Centre & Cattery. As a result of the drop-off, approximately £5,000 worth of food has been donated since the start of January 2016.

As well as feeding the cats currently at the centre, the food is also given to hedgehogs, gulls and foxes in the wildlife hospital.

Lee Stewart, manager at Stapeley Grange, said “The support has been incredible and it has made a massive difference to our food bill.

“Any donations that we have not been able to use here have been used by the inspectorate, to help feed animals that may be trapped in houses or used to trap injured or sick strays that have subsequently been

taken into care and so every last tin or pouch has been used.“We are incredibly grateful to shoppers for their donations, and also to Sainsbury‟s for giving us this opportunity - especially Olwyn Payton, the store‟s PR assistant, who organises the donations.”

Olwyn said: “Sainsbury's customers have been supporting Stapeley Grange for the last couple of years.

The team here are very proud to be supporting the centre, through our customers. Our customers will feel very proud that they have saved so much money through their donations for a worthy cause.”

Anyone who would like to donate can do so at the store.

Top of the list of items needed are Whiskas cat food and Pedigree dog food (not fishbased or gravy mixes).

Stapeley Grange also has a large meeting room available for up to 30 people. Support the RSPCA by bringing your company’s meetings to Stapeley.

Interested?

Contact us on 0300 123 0722 or gill.butler@rspca.org.uk

SAY NO

Since 2013, almost 15,000 badgers have been slaughtered in the parts of South and West England There has been NO routine testing of badgers killed during culling to establish whether they actually carried Bovine TB If the culling policy is rolled out to its full extent, up to 130,000 badgers could be killed.

TO THE BADGER CULL IN CHESHIRE PLEASE TAKE ACTION TODAY

Write to you MP to express your opposition to the badger cull and the rolling out of the cull to Cheshire

Recent culls have been labelled ‘cruel’ and ‘ineffective’

http://bit.ly/2msWHSI

@WCBadgerGrp

www.wcbg.org.uk