East Winch Wildlife Centre

Our progress and achievements

About us - our progress and achievements image

Our rehabilitation successes aren’t measured by the number of animals we release, but how well these animals do once back in the wild.

We’re always looking for ways to improve the way we work and the chances of survival for our rehabilitated wildlife after release.

Scientific evidence backs up our work with seals

We have worked with scientists from the Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews to track and monitor common seals after release. 

This research shows that rehabilitated common seals return to the wild without any adverse effects. They can swim and dive just as well as normal healthy wild seals.

This is great news for us and all the seals who come into our care.

Bat flight funded by centre staff and volunteers

Thanks to the fundraising efforts of our staff and volunteers we’ve been able to build a much-needed bat flight.

The bat flight means that the bats can fly and exercise all night. When we release them we know that they are back to full strength and have the best chance of surviving in the wild.

State of the art rehabilitation aviary

Our flight aviary is a staggering 96 feet long, 20 foot wide and 16 foot high. It plays a vital part in the rehabilitation of wild birds, especially larger birds of prey.

The flight aviary, made possible thanks to a generous donation from the Katherine Martin Charitable Trust, benefits a huge range of birds, not least the larger birds of prey such as Marsh Harriers and Buzzards.

Alison Charles, centre manager, explained:

"Once the birds have been rehabilitated we need to be sure that they are capable of strong competent straight flight. The flight aviary allows us to do this.

"If a bird cannot fly well they may not be able to hunt, so this aviary will inevitably help to save the lives of many birds."

There's still much more to do!

We have made fantastic progress, but with so many different species of wildlife there will always be more to learn and much more to do.

Find out how you can help.