The Wildlife Aid Foundation is a charity dedicated to the rescue, care and rehabilitation of sick, injured and orphaned animals. Based in
Leatherhead,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, UK, the centre operates Surrey County's only wildlife hospital (one of the three largest such hospitals in the UK) and maintains a referral service for wildlife hospitals throughout Europe. The organisation also carries out environmental activist and educational roles. Wildlife Aid has attracted media attention for its rescues of photogenic wild animals like young
fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelv ...
es and baby
badgers;
Animal Planet's TV program ''
Wildlife SOS'' chronicles the activities of Wildlife Aid volunteers as they rescue imperiled animals.
Wildlife hospital
Wildlife Aid got its start in 1979 when its founder,
Simon Cowell, MBE acquired a farmhouse in Leatherhead with the intention of starting a local wildlife rescue facility. Formally established a year later, the centre's activities steadily increased in scale; the hospital now treats more than 20,000 wild animals a year, returning 70% of them to the wild. It has saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of animals since the charity's formation in 1980. The organisation currently operates on a budget of
£350,000 per year and relies on over 300 volunteers to provide an all-year-round service. Its facilities include two
operating theatres, a
pathology lab, and an
intensive care unit. The charity's longer-term aim is to build a larger complex on a new site that will allow the expansion of the organisation's educational programmes; the planned expansion would increase the facility's footprint to , rely heavily on eco-friendly technology, and be
carbon-neutral.
[
As of 11 November 2011, "Wildlife Aid" was reincorporated at the Charity Commission as the "Wildlife Aid Foundation".
]
''Wildlife SOS''
In 1996, following a fire that destroyed one third of the hospital complex, Cowell found his organisation reliant on media attention for its continued survival. Cowell was approached by representatives of the newly formed Animal Planet channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
to produce a television series chronicling the drama of life in the wildlife rescue facility. The show was originally produced by Cowell's Wild Productions, but later directly by the foundation, with Cowell as the presenter. It experienced long-term success; it has been cited as "the longest-running animal rescue TV series".
See also
* ''The Bionic Vet
''The Bionic Vet'' is a BBC documentary television series following the work of veterinarian Noel Fitzpatrick at his veterinary practice in Surrey. Fitzpatrick and his team of over 100 vets, nurses and support staff find new methods and techniq ...
'', another Wild Productions' television series.
References
External links
*{{Official website, http://wildlifeaid.org.uk
Animal charities based in the United Kingdom
Wildlife of the United Kingdom
Organisations based in Surrey
Environmental organizations established in 1980
1980 establishments in England
1980 establishments in the United Kingdom