Harborough district bird and wildlife rescue centre launches new £75,000 appeal to build a top-class avian flu quarantine unit

A leading Harborough district bird and wildlife rescue centre is launching a new £75,000 appeal to build a top-class avian flu quarantine unit.

Leicestershire Wildlife Hospital is battling to raise the money and hit its ambitious target as quickly as possible to create the special isolation facility at its site in Kibworth Beauchamp.

Today Amy Ducker, team leader at the 38-year-old hospital on Fleckney Road, told the Harborough Mail: “This is one of the biggest if not the biggest appeals we’ve ever done – and it’s one of the most critical.

“We are acting now because we are setting out to build new bespoke isolation and quarantine facilities for the precious wildlife in our care.

“There has been a massive rise in avian influenza cases in the UK this year running alongside other zoonotic diseases.

“So it’s more vital than ever that we build this new unit as fast as we can,” said Amy.

“Cases of avian flu have multiplied drastically in the UK over the last two or three years.

“This lethal disease is highly infectious, it spreads rapidly and sadly it kills birds very quickly.

“We are being asked to take in birds all the time around the clock by people in Harborough as well as much further afield throughout Leicestershire and even beyond.

“They might be ill or injured, orphaned or abandoned.

“We obviously cannot afford to accept any birds suffering from avian flu.

“Victims have watery eyes and discharges from their noses, they can be lethargic and may also have neurological problems,” said Amy.

“We have about 100 birds in our care at the moment.

“They are mainly pigeons but we also have waterfowl, birds of prey and a pheasant hit by a car.

“We have only a small quarantine unit now.

“We do isolate birds handed over to us for two weeks just to make totally sure that they are not stricken by this terrible disease.

“Our new facility would be fully kitted out.

“It would include three water bird units as well as multiple small bird rooms.

“We’d also build in small units for small and large mammals,” said Amy.

“The building would be able to accommodate up to about 80 birds – and it would be worth its weight in gold.

“We have four staff here and about 50 volunteers – and every penny donated will go straight towards financing this absolutely crucial venture.”

If you would like to help you can visit Amy’s fundraising page here to make it happen:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/appeal-for-new-wildlife-isolation-unit?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

The regionally-renowned wildlife hospital is also looking after almost 200 hedgehogs – and they are set to be released back into the wild over the next few weeks.

And you can also sponsor an incubator and help to save hundreds of animals every year at the Kibworth Beauchamp wildlife base.

“Your donation will go towards the care of the animals in your chosen incubator, including their food, medication and the electricity providing them with constant warmth,” said Amy.

Your sponsor options are:

Portable incubator - £50 a year

Small incubator - £75 a year

Large incubator - £100 a year

And you will get:

- Your name on your chosen incubator for a year

- A welcome letter with an image of your sponsored incubator

- Four newsletters during your year sponsorship with stories of the animals saved in your incubator (portable incubator will only receive two newsletters as only used during the spring/summer season).

If you would like to sponsor an incubator, please send your sponsorship money to https://gofund.me/0fbda62b (alternatively a bank transfer, cheque or cash payment can be arranged).

You will then need to email [email protected] and give the name you’d like on the incubator and the email address you would like the welcome letter and newsletters sending to.

And you can find out a lot more about Harborough’s treasured wildlife rescue centre on their website here: https://leicesterwildlifehospital.org/