Vale Wildlife Rescue - An Introduction

Vale Wildlife Rescue is one of the largest wildlife rescue and rehabilitation centres in the Gloucestershire/Worcestershire region, and cares for a whole range of wild animals, from hedgehogs to buzzards. However, it took dedication to get to where Vale Wildlife is now, along with time and financial commitment.

Caroline Gould is the founder of the charity and Vale Wildlife Rescue can trace it's routes back to 1984, when the first casualty was brought im, not to a hospital, but to a semi-detached house near Evesham. Since then other casualties began to arrive and before long the whole garden was overflowing of bird averies and enclosures.

It appeared that there desperately needed to be a Wildlife Rescue hospital in the area as many animals were simply being 'left to nature' and 'put out of its misery'. Something had to be done urgently and so with relentless publicity and public support, Vale Wildlife Rescue was officially launched.

In May 1990, Vale Wildlife Rescue became a UK Registered Charity with the intention of increasing funds in the form of Deeds of Covenant, legacies bequeathed to Vale in Wills, financial donations, standing orders and donations of tinned pet food.

Caroline later sold her house and bought a mobile home and moved onto an acre of rented ground. Fortunately in November 1992, after a generous donations from the area, the charity managed to purcahse a 6.5 acre site in the village of Beckford. This is now the current site of Vale Wildlife Rescue. More land was bought until construction work began on the new hospital.

In July 20001, after managing to raise £150,000, Caroline and staff moved into the new hospital building.

And as of 2009, this is the current state of Vale Wildlife Rescue. A phenomenal amount of work was put in by Caroline and to get Vale Wildlife Rescue from a backgarden to an 11-acre site dedicated to helping injured wild animals is admirable.

However, education is key to helping wildlife by alerting people on how to approach injured wild animals and expand the work Vale Wildlife does with schools and colleges by constructing a purpose-built £400,000 Education and Training Centre. All Vale needs is the continued generosity of the public and support from local buisnesses and organisations so that they can continue to carry out the life-saving work to help British wildlife.

More information on Vale Wildlife Rescue's history and more is available on their website, www.vwr.org.uk. Donations can be made via Vale Wildlife Rescue's website (see the Donations page on mattmayo.com for information)