Busy Week of Badger Calls

Last week turned into a busy one for volunteer rescuers at East Sussex Wildlife Rescue.  In just four nights rescuers had to deal with three badger casualties.

Rescue Co-ordinator Chris Riddington from Eastbourne and Operations Director Trevor Weeks MBE have had very little sleep this week as a result.

“The first was a road casualty from Cuckfield and was delivered to us by the Badger Trust Sussex. Trevor joined me at WRAS’s Casualty Centre to help assess, triage and provide emergency care.  There was a lot of clotted blood from the nose and he sounded chesty. We were able to put a bandage muzzle on the badger and check him over from head to toe. Luckily we couldn’t find any sign of any serious injuries just concussion and trauma to the face and nose which initially caused quite a bit of bleeding.  Using a stethoscope the chest sounded clear too.  Following veterinary advice, fluids were given  with emergency medication and booked in to see the vet first thing.  The following morning x-rays were taken and vets confirmed our assessment of the badgers condition and treatment.   The following day we received a call to a road casualty badger in The Mount, Hastings. Rescuer Daryl and Kai joined me to gain experience. When we arrived we found members of East Sussex Fire & Rescue Service guarding the badger and keeping him safe. They had even coned off an area of the road and were using the Fire Engine to protect the badger from being run over again.  We would never advise anyone to just pick up a concussed badger as they could easily come round and cause you injury.

Sleeping Road Casualty Badger from Hastings
Sleeping Road Casualty Badger from Hastings

Amazingly the badger was in almost identical condition to the Cuckfield Badger.  After assessing his condition on the road, we carefully lifted him into a secure cage and loaded him into our ambulance. We then met Trevor at WRAS’s Centre again help assess the badgers condition. The following morning he also had an x-ray which confirmed the lack of any serious injuries just minor damage to the nose again.

Two days later we then had a call about a third badger in a garden in Willingdon, my partner Laura and I rushed to the scene and managed to catch the badger which was not using its legs properly.  At WRAS’s Casualty Centre  met Trevor again and went through assessing the badger, but this time the condition was different. There was movement in all the legs but signs that the badger had been dragging its legs.  An ultrasound of the abdomen showed an enlarged bladder, which needed expressing. Emergency medication was given and we arrange for him to be seen by one of our vets.  Sadly X-rays revealed the badger to have a damaged spine which was calcifying but not in a good way which was causing the legs and bladder not to function properly.  Sadly they recommended the badger be put to sleep.   Thank you to Henley House Vets in Uckfield for helping so much this week with dealing with these badgers and more.

Badger from Cuckfield
Badger from Cuckfield

Trevor and I certainly had some late nights last week, getting home in the early hours of the morning.” Explained Chris Riddington WRAS’s Rescue Co-ordinator.

Only being a small  local charity, WRAS doesn’t have a dedicated night time rescue team but relies primarily on staff Chris and Trevor to deal with the majority of night time call-outs, in addition to their day time role.  “It does get very tiring and it is hard at times to concentrate due to how tired you are. You also find you get more emotional as a result. Although stressful we really don’t want to give up our night time work as these casualties are generally the more serious and need urgent attention. It is difficult finding volunteers to be on call for night time work and we don’t have the funding to pay for staff to cover at night. Chris and I share the rescue phone at night and help each other out. Despite being tired and walking round like Zombies at times it is very rewarding” explained Trevor Week WRAS founder.

WRAS Care Team admitting the Cuckfield Badger
WRAS Care Team admitting the Cuckfield Badger

"After initial care and veterinary treatment the Cuckfield badger was transferred to Folly Wildlife Rescue to free up space, due to the number of large animals we currently have in care.  We also have three foxes in care at the moment too” added Trevor.

It is hoped that the Cuckfield and Hastings badgers will make a full recovery and be returned home once fully recovered.

Anyone wanting to make a donation towards the lifesaving work of WRAS should visit www.wildlifeambulance.org or call 01825-873003 or post a donation to East Sussex WRAS, PO Box 2148, Seaford, East Sussex, BN25 9DE.

-END-

Press Contacts:

Trevor Weeks or Chris Riddington – 01825-873003

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