When a sick or injured wild animal arrives at Wildlife Aid, there is one thing our veterinary team can never ask them:

“What’s wrong?”

A fox can't tell us that it has been poisoned. A hedgehog can't explain why it is suddenly weak or collapsing. And an animal arriving in shock can't tell us what is happening inside its body.

Our veterinary team has to find those answers for them.

And sometimes, every minute matters.

That's why we're hoping to raise £10,500 to bring two vital pieces of diagnostic equipment into our wildlife hospital, giving our team access to important information right here, when they need it most.

Helping us detect poisoning

Rodenticides – poisons designed to kill rats and mice – can also pose a serious threat to other wildlife. Some anticoagulant rodenticides interfere with the body's ability to clot blood. Wildlife can be exposed directly or, in some cases, through contaminated prey.

We would like to purchase a Coag Dx analyser, allowing our veterinary team to test an animal's blood-clotting ability, in-house.

For an animal suspected of rodenticide poisoning, having this information quickly could help our team understand what is happening and inform the treatment and care that follows.

Vital answers when an animal is in crisis

We also want to purchase an epoc Critical Care Analyser – a portable machine commonly used in emergency veterinary medicine.

Using just a tiny blood sample, it can provide our team with a detailed picture of a critically ill animal's condition, including blood gases, electrolytes, glucose, lactate, kidney-related measurements and other important parameters.

For an animal arriving in shock, these results can provide valuable information about what is happening inside its body – helping our veterinary team assess its condition and make informed decisions about its care.

And because the testing can be carried out right here at Wildlife Aid, our team can get those answers when they need them.

Will you help us bring this equipment to Wildlife Aid?

Together, these two machines would give our veterinary team another powerful way to understand what our patients cannot tell us.

Our target is £10,500.

Every contribution, big or small, will take us another step towards bringing this vital equipment into our wildlife hospital and giving our team even more tools to be there for wildlife when they need us most.

We know there are so many demands on everyone right now, so if you are able to support this appeal, thank you. Your kindness makes an enormous difference.

And, as always, thank you for standing with wildlife, and for being part of the Wildlife Aid community. We simply couldn't do this without you.