Injured, sick or dead wildlife

Cornwall Wildlife Trust do not offer a general service for the care and rehabilitation of wildlife. We also do not offer any services related to the discovery, reporting, or disposal of dead animals, but the advice below will help you know what to do if you find one.

Quick contacts

Injured wildlife

The RSPCA (SSPCA for Scotland, or the USPCA for Northern Ireland) and Help Wildlife's pages carry more detailed advice on what to do with injured birds and other wildlife. Help Wildlife also have a useful map to help find your local wildlife rescue service.

Marine sightings and strandings

Visit the marine sightings and strandings page for a detailed list of contacts.

Wildlife crime

If you witness a wildlife crime taking place, call 999. For a non-emergency, call 101. If you would like to give information regarding a crime anonymously, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Local organisations

We have listed a number of local organisations below. You can also browse a directory of local wildlife rescue centres here or scroll to the bottom of this page for a list of vets who are willing to receive calls concerning wild animals. Please note: the following list contains contact information for external organisations. We do our best to keep this list up to date, but if you notice anything which is incorrect, we would appreciate it if you could get in touch with us at communications@cornwallwildlifetrust.org.uk so that we can correct it. 

 

Birds

The UK is currently experiencing a high number of seabird deaths due to avian flu. Cornwall Wildlife Trust is asking the public and the Trust's volunteers to stay away from sick or dead seabirds and under no circumstances touch or handle the animals due to the high risk and severity of Avian bird flu. Any dead bird records must be called into the Defra hotline immediately.

• Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital: 01736 731386 / info@mouseholebirdhospital.org.uk (Mousehole Wild Bird Hospital had to close for 12 months due to an outbreak of bird flu, but should soon be admitting casualties again. In the meantime, check their website for the latest updates and advice.)
• Screech Owl Sanctuary (Goss Moor) - for birds of prey and owls only: 01726 860182 / screechsanctuary@gmail.com
• The Cornish Birds Of Prey Centre: 01637 880544 / info@cornishbirdsofprey.com

Bats

• Cornwall Bat Rescue:  Sue and Chris Harlow: 01872 278 695
• Bat Conservation Trust Bat Helpline: Bat Helpline 0345 1300 228 / enquiries@bats.org.uk

Hedgehogs

• Prickles & Paws: 01637 831299
• British Hedgehog Preservation Society: 01584 890 801

Badgers

• Cornwall Badger Group: 07942 346040 or 07796 112183 / cbg@email.com 

Marine

Live marine animals:

• For live stranded whales, dolphins and seals etc. - British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) 01825 765 546 (24 hours)
• For advice on live injured or distressed seals - Cornwall Seal Sanctuary 01326 221361

Dead marine animals:

• CWT Marine Strandings Network 0345 201 2626 (24 hours)

Harassment and Disturbance:

• Cornwall Marine and Coastal Code 0345 201 2626 (24 hours)

View the Marine and Coastal Code page of the website.

Exotic animals

Newquay Zoo: John Meek, Curator of animals 01637 873342/ john.meek@newquayzoo.org.uk

Corpses

It is always upsetting to find a dead wild animal. How it should be handled will depend on the species, location and circumstances. First and foremost, if you suspect the animal was unlawfully killed, contact the police (see Wildlife Crime further down). Please also add a record of your sighting to www.erccis.org.uk as we are interested in all wildlife sightings, both alive and dead.

• Birds: You should never handle any dead animal without protective equipment, and this is particularly important with birds in this current situation. Firstly, check the latest advice on the Defra website regarding Bird Flu. More general advice on disposing of dead birds is available here.
• Bats: The Bat Conservation Trust encourages the submission of dead bats to a programme run by the Animal & Plant Health Agency that helps monitor UK bats for the spread of a European strain of rabies virus affecting bats. Call the BCT helpline (0345 1300 228) who will send you a kit. You can find out more here.
• Badgers: Can be reported to the Badger Conservation Trust here.
• Deer: Check the advice provided by the British Deer Society here.
• Otter: Cardiff University (in conjunction with the Environment Agency) are examining wild otter corpses to help monitor the health of our watercourses. You can report an otter corpse by calling 03708 506 506. See the website for more information.
• Corpse in the road: Any large animal carcass on the road needs to be reported to the police by calling 101 as it could present a driving hazard.
• Corpse on the beach: Any dead stranded animal (including seals, jellyfish and birds) should be reported to the Marine Strandings Network on 0345 201 2626.
• Corpse on public land (e.g. parks or beside the road): These can be reported to Cornwall Council on their website if they need to be removed: . A corpse on private land is the responsibility of the landowner.
• Corpse in a garden: You can report dead garden wildlife to Garden Wildlife Health here.  

Wildlife Crime

Cornwall Wildlife Trust has no legal power to stop any direct threats to wildlife. If you witness a wildlife crime in an emergency situation, always dial 999. Otherwise please report it to the Police in one of the following ways:

Do you need help and advice? Not sure where to look or who to speak to? Why not AskNED – Devon and Cornwall Police’s non-emergency directory. AskNED combines the most commonly asked questions with contact details of those who can help.

• Online crime reporting form
• Phone: 101
• Email: 101@dc.police.uk
• More information
• Online webchat at dc.police.uk 

You can also report crime anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their website: crimestoppers-uk.org

Marine harassment (less serious or not immediate) can be reported to Cornwall Wildlife Trust’s Marine Disturbance 24-hour hotline on 0345 201 2626. All reports should be supported by photos and videos if possible, full descriptions of vehicles and individuals and an accurate location.

Find out more about taking action for wildlife by visiting our 'Be a Wildlife Hero' page. 

 

Vets who are willing to receive calls concerning injured wild animals

Please note, some vets will require a log number before they can carry out treatment on a wild animal. This can be provided by the RSPCA or some local wildlife rescue centres (such as Mousehole Bird Hospital).

Caradon

Callington - Calweton Veterinary Group 01579 383231
Liskeard - Luxstowe Veterinary Centre 01579 342120
Looe - Calweton Veterinary Group 01579 263773
Saltash - Albert Cottage Veterinary Clinic (01752) 843397

Carrick

St Agnes/Perranporth - St Clement Veterinary Centre 01872 223400
Truro/Roseland - Clifton Villa Veterinary Surgery -  Tregony 01872 501900 or Truro 01872 273694

Kerrier

Camborne - Clifton Villa Veterinary Surgery 01209 711933
Falmouth - Rosemullion Veterinary Surgery 01326 313991
Helston - Rosemullion Veterinary Surgery 01326 572596
Redruth - Redruth Veterinary Surgery 01209 218801

North Cornwall

Bodmin - Abbott, Draper & Fraser 01208 75252/01208 812530
Bude - Penbode Veterinary Group 01288 353766
Camelford - Penbode Veterinary Group 01840 213277
Launceston - Castle Veterinary Group 01566 772211
Padstow - Penmellyn Veterinary Group 01841 520647
Wadebridge - Abbott, Draper & Fraser 01208 812530

Penwith

Hayle - Hayle Veterinary Surgery 01736 754111
Penzance - Regent Court Veterinary Practise 01736 368768
St Ives - St Ives Veterinary Surgery01736 798333

Restormel

Newquay - Penmellyn Veterinary Group 01637 871695
St Austell - Churchend Veterinary Centre 01726 72095