26 Dec 2007 - "The Rescuers" Courier Newspaper Feature
Christmas is the season for giving and receiving gifts, but it's also a time when people pause to take stock and sometimes decide to change their lives or give something back to the community they live in. One such way is by donating or volunteering to help a charity.
Jack McKeown spent an afternoon at the Shanwell Wildlife Rescue Trust in Broughty Ferry to find out how rewarding volunteering can be.
Most of us will be sitting back today with full bellies, half a turkey still in the fridge, the jumpers and slippers we got for Christmas keeping us warm, and watching a blockbuster movie on the television. It may be perishing outside, but we've got no need to move from our armchairs, unless to grab another mince pie.
For a band of hardy volunteers in Dundee, however, there'll be no such rest. The people who donate their time to Shanwell Wildlife Rescue Trust will be on call over the festive period, ready to race to the assistance of sick and injured animals reported to them by the emergency services or members of the public.
"We're a bit like the accident and emergency dept at Ninewells hospital," explains centre manager Gareth Norman. "We give the animals immediate aid and then pass them on somewhere else."
SWRT, a registered charity, was set up in 2004 to provide a frontline rescue and treatment service for injured wild animals. Starting off with a core of four people, the organisation has expanded and now has around 15 regular hands-on members, plus more who help out on an occasional basis.
The unit is Tayside's only volunteer wildlife rescue service and the dedication shown by those who run the centre is remarkable. None of the centre's volunteers receive payment for any of their work, and in fact many of them dip into their own pockets to help meet its running costs.
The small van previously used for much of the centre's work is currently off the road needing repairs, and Gareth's personal vehicle, a Ford Ranger pick-up truck, has been pressed into duty.
"It's very handy to have," Gareth continues. "Because a lot of the cases we go out to are in some fairly out-of-the-way areas, so having a four-wheel-drive allows us to get pretty much anywhere."
The centre takes in everything from seals and foxes to hedgehogs, owls and other birds, and small mammals and reptiles. Their aim is to heal every animal capable of surviving its injuries and return it back to its natural environment, while giving those who will not survive a comfortable and dignified death.
The operation manages an incredible amount of work on a shoestring budget. "We get no external funding whatsoever", explains Gareth. "Pretty much all of our funding comes from tin rattling and other fund-raising efforts. We have a stall at events like the Broughty Ferry Gala."
"Sometimes we do have to dip into our own pockets to keep the show on the road."
Much of the centre's equipment has been donated or reclaimed. The fridges in which drugs are kept cold were going to be disposed of, while the cages that house hedgehogs and other small mammals were donated by a DIY store. They've also been given a machine that spins blood samples so they can carry out more of the medical work themselves and save on vets bills.
The centre is also fortunate in having next to no costs for overheads. They are located in the old barracks beside Broughty Ferry Castle, which is owned by Historic Scotland (although Gareth stresses they do not want members of the public delivering injured animals themselves, and would rather they call the number at the bottom of this article).
"They've been kind enough to give us the use of the premises for free so our operating costs are extremely low. The vast bulk of our costs are vet bills and drugs, although these days fuel is a big cost as well."
Prior to helping set up the SWRT, Gareth worked for the SSPCA. He now makes a living doing security for large events such as the Dunhill Cup. "It's ideal, because I have quite a bit of spare time and I know well in advance when I'll be working."
"It means we can operate a round-the-clock service and get out to injured animals when other agencies aren't able to.
"We also report quite a lot of wildlife crime to the police because a lot of our work is done at night so we're out and about when not many people are around."
The volunteers at the centre have to cope with rescuing animals whose injuries are unsurvivable. "I've been doing this for quite a long while now but it still gets me every time," Gareth says, his 18 stone frame slumping slightly.
"If an animal's injuries are too severe we have to euthanise them. Quite often an animal comes in with injuries that it's unlikely to survive. It is sad, but at least it gets somewhere warm to die with a bit of dignity instead of suffering a cold, painful death in the wild."
While the volunteers at Shanwell have to get used to seeing animals die, they also have their share of amusing tales to relate.
"We were called to a report of a dead dolphin in Cellardyke. This was just around the time of the avian flu when all the nation's media was in the village.
"There was no press there when we arrived, then suddenly we were surrounded by them. They thought there'd been a cross species infection in the dolphin and they were trying to get us to say words to that effect.
"We weren't prepared to say anything of the kind, of course, and a post mortem showed that bird flu had nothing to do with its death!"
While most of SWRT's work occurs away from the spotlight glare of the nation's press, the nature of the job has led Gareth into some fairly unusual situations.
"Animals do get themselves stuck in the strangest of places. We attended a case where a swan had got stuck in a farm gate. It was an old metal gate and somehow it had managed to thread its wing through the bars and completely tangle itself.
"We managed to get it unstuck without having to cut the gate and we took it to Parkside vets. I thought it might have to be put down but they declared it fit."
"All the time we'd been trying to rescue the swan its mate had been looking on in distress, so it was nice to be able to watch the two of them swim away happily.
"We've had all sorts of unusual situations," he continues. "We've had owls stuck down chimneys and bats flying round a child?s bedroom. The bats were a nightmare to catch because their sonar detects nets so they kept veering away."
At present Shanwell Wildlife Rescue Trust is operating with only half their usual space while Historic Scotland carry out repairs to the building they're housed in.
On my visit the centre's only residents were four hedgehogs who were found in distress and are being looked after for the winter. When all four animals came in they were very undernourished.
"A hedgehog has to be over 600 grams in order to survive hibernation and these ones were all well below that."
Gareth and the other volunteers carefully feed the hedgehogs up and check their weight regularly. Slipping on a pair of gloves I help out with today's weigh-in.
I pick up one of the creatures and he briefly curls into a prickly, defensive ball before slowly unfurling himself as he gets used to being handled. I place him onto the scales where he snuffles round the bowl then waves his snout towards the ceiling, sniffing the air.
After a moment the scales settle on his weight, a healthy 660grams, almost exactly 200 grams heavier than when he arrived at the centre in mid-autumn. I place the hedgehog back in his cage and after briefly checking his surroundings he dashes into his nest of straw and disappears.
"That's a much healthier weight," Gareth proclaims, pleased with the little fellow's progress. "But it's too late on in the year for him to build a nest and hibernate now. He'll be spending the winter here with us."
To become a volunteer for or member of the Shanwell Wildlife Rescue Trust download the pdf application form from their website www.swrt.ik.com
Donations can be made via post to PO Box 10091, Dundee, DD2 4WX. To report an injured animal call 07849 184 354. The phone line is manned 24 hours a day.
Jack McKeown spent an afternoon at the Shanwell Wildlife Rescue Trust in Broughty Ferry to find out how rewarding volunteering can be.
Most of us will be sitting back today with full bellies, half a turkey still in the fridge, the jumpers and slippers we got for Christmas keeping us warm, and watching a blockbuster movie on the television. It may be perishing outside, but we've got no need to move from our armchairs, unless to grab another mince pie.
For a band of hardy volunteers in Dundee, however, there'll be no such rest. The people who donate their time to Shanwell Wildlife Rescue Trust will be on call over the festive period, ready to race to the assistance of sick and injured animals reported to them by the emergency services or members of the public.
"We're a bit like the accident and emergency dept at Ninewells hospital," explains centre manager Gareth Norman. "We give the animals immediate aid and then pass them on somewhere else."
SWRT, a registered charity, was set up in 2004 to provide a frontline rescue and treatment service for injured wild animals. Starting off with a core of four people, the organisation has expanded and now has around 15 regular hands-on members, plus more who help out on an occasional basis.
The unit is Tayside's only volunteer wildlife rescue service and the dedication shown by those who run the centre is remarkable. None of the centre's volunteers receive payment for any of their work, and in fact many of them dip into their own pockets to help meet its running costs.
The small van previously used for much of the centre's work is currently off the road needing repairs, and Gareth's personal vehicle, a Ford Ranger pick-up truck, has been pressed into duty.
"It's very handy to have," Gareth continues. "Because a lot of the cases we go out to are in some fairly out-of-the-way areas, so having a four-wheel-drive allows us to get pretty much anywhere."
The centre takes in everything from seals and foxes to hedgehogs, owls and other birds, and small mammals and reptiles. Their aim is to heal every animal capable of surviving its injuries and return it back to its natural environment, while giving those who will not survive a comfortable and dignified death.
The operation manages an incredible amount of work on a shoestring budget. "We get no external funding whatsoever", explains Gareth. "Pretty much all of our funding comes from tin rattling and other fund-raising efforts. We have a stall at events like the Broughty Ferry Gala."
"Sometimes we do have to dip into our own pockets to keep the show on the road."
Much of the centre's equipment has been donated or reclaimed. The fridges in which drugs are kept cold were going to be disposed of, while the cages that house hedgehogs and other small mammals were donated by a DIY store. They've also been given a machine that spins blood samples so they can carry out more of the medical work themselves and save on vets bills.
The centre is also fortunate in having next to no costs for overheads. They are located in the old barracks beside Broughty Ferry Castle, which is owned by Historic Scotland (although Gareth stresses they do not want members of the public delivering injured animals themselves, and would rather they call the number at the bottom of this article).
"They've been kind enough to give us the use of the premises for free so our operating costs are extremely low. The vast bulk of our costs are vet bills and drugs, although these days fuel is a big cost as well."
Prior to helping set up the SWRT, Gareth worked for the SSPCA. He now makes a living doing security for large events such as the Dunhill Cup. "It's ideal, because I have quite a bit of spare time and I know well in advance when I'll be working."
"It means we can operate a round-the-clock service and get out to injured animals when other agencies aren't able to.
"We also report quite a lot of wildlife crime to the police because a lot of our work is done at night so we're out and about when not many people are around."
The volunteers at the centre have to cope with rescuing animals whose injuries are unsurvivable. "I've been doing this for quite a long while now but it still gets me every time," Gareth says, his 18 stone frame slumping slightly.
"If an animal's injuries are too severe we have to euthanise them. Quite often an animal comes in with injuries that it's unlikely to survive. It is sad, but at least it gets somewhere warm to die with a bit of dignity instead of suffering a cold, painful death in the wild."
While the volunteers at Shanwell have to get used to seeing animals die, they also have their share of amusing tales to relate.
"We were called to a report of a dead dolphin in Cellardyke. This was just around the time of the avian flu when all the nation's media was in the village.
"There was no press there when we arrived, then suddenly we were surrounded by them. They thought there'd been a cross species infection in the dolphin and they were trying to get us to say words to that effect.
"We weren't prepared to say anything of the kind, of course, and a post mortem showed that bird flu had nothing to do with its death!"
While most of SWRT's work occurs away from the spotlight glare of the nation's press, the nature of the job has led Gareth into some fairly unusual situations.
"Animals do get themselves stuck in the strangest of places. We attended a case where a swan had got stuck in a farm gate. It was an old metal gate and somehow it had managed to thread its wing through the bars and completely tangle itself.
"We managed to get it unstuck without having to cut the gate and we took it to Parkside vets. I thought it might have to be put down but they declared it fit."
"All the time we'd been trying to rescue the swan its mate had been looking on in distress, so it was nice to be able to watch the two of them swim away happily.
"We've had all sorts of unusual situations," he continues. "We've had owls stuck down chimneys and bats flying round a child?s bedroom. The bats were a nightmare to catch because their sonar detects nets so they kept veering away."
At present Shanwell Wildlife Rescue Trust is operating with only half their usual space while Historic Scotland carry out repairs to the building they're housed in.
On my visit the centre's only residents were four hedgehogs who were found in distress and are being looked after for the winter. When all four animals came in they were very undernourished.
"A hedgehog has to be over 600 grams in order to survive hibernation and these ones were all well below that."
Gareth and the other volunteers carefully feed the hedgehogs up and check their weight regularly. Slipping on a pair of gloves I help out with today's weigh-in.
I pick up one of the creatures and he briefly curls into a prickly, defensive ball before slowly unfurling himself as he gets used to being handled. I place him onto the scales where he snuffles round the bowl then waves his snout towards the ceiling, sniffing the air.
After a moment the scales settle on his weight, a healthy 660grams, almost exactly 200 grams heavier than when he arrived at the centre in mid-autumn. I place the hedgehog back in his cage and after briefly checking his surroundings he dashes into his nest of straw and disappears.
"That's a much healthier weight," Gareth proclaims, pleased with the little fellow's progress. "But it's too late on in the year for him to build a nest and hibernate now. He'll be spending the winter here with us."
To become a volunteer for or member of the Shanwell Wildlife Rescue Trust download the pdf application form from their website www.swrt.ik.com
Donations can be made via post to PO Box 10091, Dundee, DD2 4WX. To report an injured animal call 07849 184 354. The phone line is manned 24 hours a day.