Wildlife Rescue comes to Bexhill Rotary

Trevor (pictured) first got involved with wildlife rescue and conservation work when he was just thirteen years old having spent a lot of time in the countryside growing up in Hailsham. In 1996 East Sussex WRAS was born although he didn’t become a fully employed staff member until 2010. Nowadays there are four other full time employees of the charity alongside Trevor with over 100 volunteers involved as well.

With the aid of pictures and film, Trevor explained that WRAS is a front line service with over 4,000 animal rescues each year. Although the charity started in a small way, it now has a fleet of ambulances with a casualty centre and an animal hospital, all with the objective of returning animals back to the wild as soon as is possible. Trevor covered a number of cases to show WRAS in action including a badger being rescued the Uckfield Water Treatment Tank which was done with the help of the Fire Brigade, a roe deer on Eastbourne seafront, a duck on an island on the lake in Alexandra Park in Hastings, and he also mentioned that around 800 hedgehogs are rescued every year!

At the end of the presentation, Bexhill Rotary President Perry Puddefoot presented a cheque donation to Trevor for WRAS after Rotarian Brian Cope had given the vote of thanks on behalf of an enthusiastic audience.

It costs £360,000 to operate East Sussex WRAS and it’s all funded by private donations without any government support. If you would like to make a donation call 01825 873003, or to find out more go to the website www.wildlifeambulance.org. 

Bexhill Rotary Club welcomes new members who are keen to take part in our activities serving communities and who are looking to join a busy and fun-loving club. To find out more, just contact Honorary Secretary Stephen White – stephenandlaura98@yahoo.co.uk, or check out the website – www.bexhill.rotaryweb.org. or Facebook www.facebook.com/BexhillRotary.