Our facilities

We are lucky enough to have a very well equipped Hospital although some of our enclosures and aviaries
are in need of updating and renewing. Financial constraints mean that any new building or replacement
of old equipment etc. has to be done bit by bit as the funds allow.
We are not open to the public due to the nature of the work that we do and the stress that would be
involved to wildlife casualties. It would be very nice from a financial point of view to open up our doors and
charge a fee for people to come and see what we do, but the health and welfare of the wildlife in our care
is paramount and we will not jeopardise this for any reason.
Our Open Days give people their only opportunity to see behind the scenes at Vale.
The date for our 40th Anniversary Open Day 2024 is Sunday 7th July.
You can however see pictures of various parts of the Hospital and read about our work throughout the
website.
We have many plans for the future and we always have a long ‘Wish List’ of things we would like to buy or
replace, with costs ranging from a few pounds for heat mats for example, all the way up to £1.5M to replace
the existing hospital with a brand new state of the art facility, to include a training/education section.
Vale’s stance on permanent disability of wildlife casualties:
Wild animals should be in their natural environment and we do not believe that wildlife that is
unable to survive back in the wild should be kept in permanent captivity. All wild animals suffer
from varying degrees of stress when in close proximity to humans (we are seen as predators to
them). In some species this stress can prove fatal. Although there is no alternative during the
treatment and rehabilitation process, we are able to keep human contact to an absolute minimum
while casualties are with us, but wildlife kept in permanent captivity, unable to carry out their
normal, natural behaviour etc. are forced to endure unacceptable levels of fear and stress.
Quality of life must always be the most important consideration when dealing with wildlife.
In our opinion, a permanently disabled wild animal, unable to be released, has little or no quality of
life in captivity.
It is therefore the policy of Vale Wildlife Hospital to humanely euthanase any wild animal that is not
able to be released back into the wild.
This decision is never taken lightly and every effort is always made to get the animal fit enough for
release, and it is only when we are certain that the casualty will never be able to fend for itself in
the wild that this course of action is taken.

Donate-Button-DFA

We always welcome donations of:

tinned pet food, kitchen roll, towels, blankets, washing-up liquid, envelopes, A4 paper & card, pens, marker pens, highlighters, washing powder, toilet roll (no, not for the animals!)