ISLAND RSPCA APPOINTS NEW WILDLIFE CO-ORDINATOR AT GODSHILL ANIMAL RESCUE CENTRE

Globetrotting animal welfare expert “delighted” to be back on the Island.

Louise joins the team at the Godshill Animal Rescue Centre having racked up a wealth of animal welfare experience in the UK, Africa, Asia and, briefly, Central America and she is relishing the prospect of putting all the know-how she has collected along the way  into practice co-ordinating wildlife rescue, welfare and release functions at Godshill.

She has been busy immediately, with the centre currently playing host to a swan that had become covered in vegetable oil. Louise said:

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“She was not in a good state at all when she was found but having first been treated at the vets and now having spent a while here with us she is much better.

“She’s feisty, which is good, and bright and she is making the most of the outdoor pool we have here. We’re looking forward to releasing her back into the wild as soon as we can.”

Another of her priorities will be developing the links the centre already has with the many other wildlife welfare and rescue groups and their support teams already operating on the Island. She will also be ensuring that RSPCA staff have all the required skills and training necessary so the centre continues to have the very best wildlife care capabilities.

For her part Louise is returning to the Island following a spell here working with the Bird Aware Solent project in a seasonal role. It was during this period, helping the organisation raise awareness of the ducks, geese and wading birds that spend the winter on the South Coast, that she fell in love with the Island.

But it has been some journey since graduating from Liverpool’s John Moores University to settling down in Sandown. After leaving university, she worked as a wildlife assistant at the RSPCA Wildlife Centre in East Winch, Norfolk, for 7 years. She then jumped at the chance to work as a volunteer at an elephant rescue facility in Zambia before a spell in China with Animals Asia working with Asiatic bears threatened by the illegal wildlife trade. This was followed by a 2 year spell in Vietnam working in a more senior role as a bear manager for a similar project.

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This was in turn followed by 3 months in Gabon, West Africa and a year working in an Indonesian animal rescue centre caring for crocodiles, turtles, bears, exotic birds and the endangered Javan leopard – all victims of the illegal wildlife trade.

As Louise sums up:

“It has been a long and varied route to get to the Island but I am delighted to be here and an excited about the challenges ahead.”