How are we helping wildlife?

As you might expect, it’s a huge challenge to try to improve the welfare of such a large number of animals and species! We work in many different ways to encourage change, using scientific information and practical evidence to support our arguments.

Here’s a little look at some of the work we do:

• Raise awareness of wild animal welfare issues and provide information and advice.
   
• Work with, and try to influence, those who make important policy decisions about wild animal welfare.
   
• Rescue and rehabilitate abandoned and injured wild animals at our wildlife centres and conduct research to constantly improve our level of care.
   
• Develop and update detailed RSPCA protocols for the best possible rehabilitation practices of all species cared for.

• Teach trainee inspectors wildlife-related aspects of work, including identification, legislation and handling.
   
• Develop free educational resources about wild animal welfare, aiming to help teachers and students examine and debate subjects.
   
• Support research into relevant welfare issues such as the control of moles or deer vehicle collisions.
   
• Work internationally with both governments and non-governmental organisations, such as providing training overseas on the rehabilitation of oiled birds and the identification of freshwater turtles.

Our work covers many different areas as well as species. 

Here are just a few:

• Wild animals kept as pets.
   
• Wild animals used in performance.
   
• Management and control or culling of wildlife.
   
• Non-native species and their welfare impacts on native animals, such as grey and red squirrels.
   
• Rescue and rehabilitation of wildlife, and research into post-release survival.

• Wildlife trade, for example working with national and global organisations including Wildlife and Countryside Link, SSN and CITES. 

Want to know more?

To learn more about the work we do for wildlife, browse the links on the right and left of this page.  You can learn also more about the specific work done by our dedicated wildlife department by visiting the Science group section of the website.