The RSPCA is calling on people in Volunteers’ Week (2nd to 8thJune) to help the animal charity recruit 2,500 new Wildlife Friends who can protect and nurture wildlife.
Wildlife Friends pledge to undertake simple tasks in gardens and outdoor spaces to help wildlife thrive and protect them from injury. By doing so, they are not only helping wildlife but ensuring the RSPCA’s highly-skilled frontline staff have more time to focus on tackling cases of cruelty and neglect.
The animal charity is releasing a new menu of quick and simple tasks which can be completed by volunteers who sign up as Wildlife Friends. These include creating a mini wildlife pond to provide a habitat for frogs, newts and insects, putting away football netting so that wild animals such as foxes don’t get tangled up and injured, and providing drinking stations for wildlife when temperatures soar.
Wildlife Friends was launched by the RSPCA in 2023 to encourage people to join a one million-strong movement for animals and play their part in creating wildlife-friendly habitats and environments. Last year, the RSPCA received 40,003 calls about wild animals in need, and many of these could have been prevented. The need to increase awareness of the problems faced by wildlife and how best to protect them has never been greater.
RSPCA Volunteer Experience Partner Sherry Flanagan said:
“This summer a little kindness goes a long way. Like us, animals face challenges as the weather gets hotter, so our wildlife experts have created a series of small acts of kindness people can carry out, to help wild animals they share their neighbourhoods with.
“They are small acts of kindness which take a few minutes, but they will make a big difference to wildlife. We’ve got a great team of dedicated volunteers making a huge difference for animals, and we are asking people this Volunteers’ Week to sign-up and help the RSPCA recruit 2,500 new Wildlife Friends this year.”
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Hundreds of wildlife-friendly tasks have already been completed so far this year by the RSPCA’s dedicated volunteers and the charity wants more people to get involved as the summer arrives.
There are already around 7,200 people volunteering with the RSPCA across England and Wales, an increase of 10% on the same time last year. During 2024 1,971 of those signed up as volunteers were Wildlife Friends.
More than 10,209 wild animals were admitted to the RSPCA’s 4 wildlife centres last year, a rise of 35% compared to 2023, with hedgehogs (2,275), the species most likely to need help followed by wood pigeons (1,113), herring gulls (831), mallard ducks (660) and feral pigeons (539).
At the centres, volunteer wildlife assistants play an important role helping the painstaking rehabilitation of animals so they can be released back to the wild.
Volunteers’ Week, which is organised by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO), is an annual celebration of the efforts made by millions of volunteers who offer their time and skills in unpaid roles. Volunteers make a unique contribution to the work of the RSPCA, from those who help out at the charity’s wildlife centres and animal centres, to microvolunteers, like Wildlife Friends.
The RSPCA has a variety of other roles currently available, including for volunteer gardeners, cat fosterers, animal rescue volunteers (ARVs), charity shop assistants and community fundraisers, and they can all be found at the charity’s website.
RSPCA Head of Volunteering Brian Reeves said:
“All our volunteers are amazing and make a huge difference to animal welfare through the kind gift of their time, skills and energy. We have a variety of roles for anyone interested in devoting some of their time to our work, including those involving working with and nurturing wildlife. We know animals are facing huge challenges and need our help more than ever and we want to inspire everyone to create a better world for every animal
“Our Wildlife Friends volunteering scheme is great for anyone who can spare even just a few minutes, or a couple of hours, to create a better and kinder world for every animal. By becoming an RSPCA Wildlife Friend animal lovers can join with their community to make a safe space for the animals. We all share our neighbourhoods with wonderful wildlife and we need to protect it.”
Here are just some of the wildlife-friendly tasks which volunteers can enjoy completing as RSPCA Wildlife Friends when they sign up this summer:
Attract butterflies to your garden or balcony by making a Butterfly Cafe. A fruit and nectar feeder will draw in the colourful pollinators who thrive in warm weather.
Soaring temperatures hit wildlife hard so help them cool down by providing something to drink..
Make a froggy haven hideaway. Frogs and toads need a cool place to shelter in the summer, so help them out by providing them with a pile of rocks and logs.
You can sign up as an RSPCA Wildlife Friend at the RSPCA website. Those joining also receive a monthly newsletter and insider information from RSPCA wildlife experts.
