Be wise when it comes to wildlife

Animal welfare bosses have launched a campaign to raise awareness of when wild animals need rescued.

The Scottish SPCA sees a large increase in reports of wildlife in need every spring.

But, in many cases, the wild animals, particularly if they are young, do not need assistance.

That is why the society has launched its #WildlifeWise campaign.

The project aims to get people who come across baby animals to refrain from disturbing them immediately.

Instead, the Scottish SPCA wants people to observe the animal from a distance and, if there is no clear sign of injury or distress, return in a few hours’time to see if the animal is still there.

Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the charity is continuing to attend urgent rescues and investigate reports of animals in need across Scotland.

Steven Gray, wildlife manager for the Scottish SPCA, said:“The majority of reports the Scottish SPCA gets relate to wildlife.

“Last year, we had over 3,000 birds and 50 fox cubs in our wildlife centre.

“Many fox cubs, baby birds and young fawns will be left by their mother for several hours at a time.

“Sometimes, people come across these baby animals and disturb or move them because they think they need help.

“This can cause great distress to a parent if it returns to find its young are gone, and inadvertently creates a welfare issue, meaning the animal has to be taken to our wildlife centre until it is old enough to survive in the wild.”

Last year, the society’s animal helpline took over 10,000 calls about baby birds and almost 3,000 about foxes.

Fore more information, visit www.scottishspca.org/ wildlifewise