Wildlife First Aid
Firstly, is it really injured?
Bleeding from anywhere, wounds, hanging wing, hanging, leg, lying flat on the ground in the rain, covered in oil, lots of parasites, drooling, circling etc.
What next? Get them to the vet or your nearest wildlife rescue as soon as possible, if for any reason this cannot happen immediately please check out our wildlife first aid section for help with what to do next.
NO
- Baby deer sat happily all alone in the field, hedge or wood? Mum knows where she left it, do not touch or hang around, just go.
- Hedgehog spread out like a starfish in the sun (up to 15 minutes only) they are nocturnal but they need to get their vitamin D from the sun sometimes!
- Juvenile rooks, crows, ravens, jackdaws, songbirds and garden birds – keep watch from a long distance, 9/10 times the parents will come!
- Young seagulls on roofs, mum will come back. If they are in a public area or on the road, pop them on the nearest low roof for mum. This may be hard with inner city gulls, they may need relocating to a rescue centre.
- Fluffy baby tawny owls at the bottom of trees are practicing flying. Leave them alone. If they are in a public area, pop them up the nearest tree (no more than 50yds from where found)
DON'T TOUCH - get the vet or your local sanctuary
Injured adult deer, injured adult badgers, foxes and otters, even when unconscious are dangerous, they can come around at a moment’s notice and cause serious or even grievous injury to inexperienced handlers and will need sedation before any rescue is attempted.