Oxfordshire wildlife charity fundraiser to find new site

Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue has launched a fundraiser after being told by landlords they will need to leave its rented land in Blewbury due to "uncertainties with the future of the farm".

The charity, which rescues around 3,000 creatures every year, has found "a patch of land which ticks all the boxes" but needs to raise £250,000 to secure it.

The charity was founded by Luke and Ruth Waclawek outgrew their family home in Didcot and expanded in to the site at Blewbury in 2020.

The organisation which once treated 30 animals annually now deals with thousands of voles, toads, swifts, garden birds, and hedgehogs as well as foxes, owls and deer, most of which are found by concerned members of the public, each year.

The animal rescue charity has nearly reached the halfway mark of its £250,00 target. To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-appeal-save-oxfordshire-wildlife-rescue.

Mr Waclawek said: "If we don’t find a new home, the reality is that Oxfordshire Wildlife Rescue will probably cease to exist.​

"We need to buy our own land. If we cannot do that then charity will no longer be able to help not just our amazing but threatened wildlife, but the thousands of members of the public who turn to us for help or advice when they find an animal in need.

"Wildlife matters, and now our mission is to ensure that we can keep this vital service not only continuous but to expand, develop and ensure a legacy for future generations to come."

"There has never been a registered wildlife hospital in Oxfordshire in its history.

"We would like to change that," he said, adding he would like to open the first and only wildlife hospital in the county complete with onsite veterinary care, educational and public facilities that enable everyone to connect with nature and the environment.

​Last summer the charity was called for help, on average, every 25 minutes and received between seven to 15 deer road traffic casualties a day, he said.

This spring the team has already rescued a roe deer which was suffering from flystrike caused by greenbottle flies which can induce toxic shock and can kill an animal if not treated quickly.

After meticulously combing out hundreds and hundreds of larvae and eggs, the deer was given fluids and painkillers and the team could only hope that he made it through the night.

His throat was so swollen with an infection he couldn’t eat, and ambulance coordinator Sarah Jane created a special deer ‘smoothie’, with the most nutritious and immune-boosting ingredients.

Three days later, his eyes were beginning to open, the swelling was hugely decreased, and he was feeling well enough to try and break through the shed when he was offered his afternoon painkillers.

A week later, he was well enough for release.

Last September the wildlife centre, which was presented with 'the environmental award' by Didcot Town Council, hit a setback and had to put out a distress call when its centre was flooded six inches deep during heavy rainfall.

The charity had been given 100 empty sandbags by Vauxhall Barracks and it issued a desperate plea over social media for sand to fill them with.

“URGENT! HELP!” it said in another tweet. “Our centre is flooding! Water inside is 6 inches deep and rising quickly!"

Mr Waclawek said: “Never in the history of OWR, have I been so grateful and proud of our team.

He added: “Because of you, years of dedication and work have been preserved and with little collateral damage.

“You, are the heroes of this charity.”​