The Nature of Scotland

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1 National Wildlife Rescue Centre The Scottish SPCA’s new National Wildlife Rescue Centre is a major boost for animal welfare in Scotland. A state-ofthe-art facility, it’s ideal for rehabilitation and replaces the previous Middlebank centre in Fife. The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Scottish SPCA) is justifiably proud of its new £3.5m development at Fishcross, Clackmannanshire. Funded entirely through public donations, the new centre has already cared for over 2,000 sick, injured and orphaned wild animals. Scotland’s first National Wildlife Rescue Centre has given the charity much needed and increased capacity to rescue and rehabilitate every kind of wild animal in Scotland, with whales and dolphins being the only exception. Animals including birds, seals, red squirrels, badgers, hedgehogs, otters, pine martens, foxes and deer have already been treated by the charity’s dedicated wildlife team. This has all been done through the use of the brand-new veterinary facilities; seal, swan and otter pools; aviaries; wild mammal enclosures; paddocks; and a stable block for deer. 32 The Nature of Scotland
Centre manager Colin Seddon stressed the need for the new facility. “Our previous centre at Middlebank in Fife was being stretched to cope with the volume and diversity of animals we were rescuing. The new centre has been a major step forward for animal welfare in Scotland, enabling us to care for a staggering 2,284 wildlife casualties already. “We’ve been extremely busy with baby birds throughout the fledgling season, which is only now beginning to slow down. However, there’s still a huge amount of work to do before the year is out and over the autumn and winter period, particularly when the grey seal pupping season begins, we’ll be treating many more casualties.” Colin knows this is just the start of what will be a steady stream of work. “We expect to take in and release at least another 1,000 animals by the end of December.” The Scottish SPCA can now care for up to 5,000 sick, injured and orphaned wild animals at the centre each year and it is the only centre in Scotland with facilities to care for oiled birds. Colin continues, “We can now treat up to 1,000 oiled bird casualties at any one time, which is absolutely vital should there ever be a large-scale oil disaster in Scottish waters. “Another key aspect of our new centre is that all animals can now be cared for in one place right up until they are ready to be released back into their natural habitat. Previously, we often had to transfer wildlife to other organisations to continue their rehabilitation, which wasn’t always ideal. “With our new facilities, there’s no need to move animals on and human interaction and stress can now be kept to an absolute minimum. Otter cub siblings Flash and Flood, who were rescued after they became separated from their mother during a spell of torrential rain, are a great example of how animals are benefitting. “Previously, these cubs would have come to us in the first instance but would then have been moved to the International Otter Survival Fund on Skye, where they would remain for around 12 months. Thanks to our improved facilities, Flash and Flood can stay here for the entire duration of their rehabilitation and they’re really thriving. We’re very hopeful we’ll be able to release them both back into their natural habitat.” Having already taken in over half of last year’s figure since its opening in April, the demand on the charity’s facilities and wildlife team is greater than ever. Colin knows this is a challenge. “Treatment can range from simply providing rest and recuperation to around-theclock feeding and arranging specialist veterinary treatment,” he explained. “It certainly isn’t a typical nine to five job or something you can switch off from. If a wildlife casualty comes in at 11pm, we’re here to help. “Although it’s hard work, we all know we’re extremely privileged to be able to work with wild animals and help return them fit and healthy to their natural habitats. Watching an animal, who may have suffered and died without our help, being released back into the wild really does make everything worthwhile.” The Scottish SPCA’s National Wildlife Rescue Centre is not open to visitors. However, members of the public can take sick or injured wild animals to the centre for treatment. Anyone who discovers an injured or distressed wild animal should call the Scottish SPCA Animal Helpline on 03000 999 999. 2 1 A young red squirrel is nursed back to health by being syringe-fed. 2 A young song-thrush is typical of the fledglings that keep the centre busy throughout spring. www.snh.gov.uk 33
Page 1 and 2: Scottish Natural Heritage Autumn /
Page 3 and 4: Contents Features 10 Natural inspir
Page 5 and 6: Welcome Alison Bell Principal Advis
Page 7 and 8: Dung ho! They’re built like minia
Page 9 and 10: Winter Daylight hours are few now,
Page 11 and 12: Winter Branches of learning Look at
Page 13 and 14: 1 Year of Natural Scotland 2013 is
Page 15 and 16: www.snh.gov.uk 13
Page 17 and 18: It’s an unpleasant fact but it is
Page 19 and 20: 5 “‘Branching Out’ fits well
Page 21 and 22: SNH PINS its notices on new online
Page 23 and 24: NEWS Basking shark tagging project
Page 25 and 26: 1 Red kite recovery features promin
Page 27 and 28: 1 A new funding package should help
Page 29 and 30: 3 4 www.snh.gov.uk 27
Page 31 and 32: It has been another poor summer wea
Page 33: Gocan na Cuthaig Tha abairt ann an
Page 37 and 38: “A key aspect of our new centre i
Page 39 and 40: Caerlaverock National Nature Reserv
Page 41 and 42: 3 2 The path divides at this point
Page 43 and 44: 6 Essential information Caerlaveroc
Page 45 and 46: SNH Area News Forth Correspondents:
Page 47 and 48: SNH Area News Southern Scotland Cor
Page 49 and 50: SNH Area News Tayside and Grampian
Page 51 and 52: Green tourism is one of Scotland’
Page 53 and 54: Glasgow’s Countryside Rangers hav
Page 55 and 56: 4 Scotland where wild whooper swans
Page 57 and 58: 6 5 Countryside Rangers offer valua
Page 59 and 60: Climate change and more extreme wea
Page 61 and 62: 1 Black grouse seen displaying by a
Page 63 and 64: 3 More than just a peat bog We have
Page 65 and 66: More than just some hills The very
Page 67 and 68: www.snh.gov.uk 65

The Nature of Scotland

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