Blyth Wildlife Rescue receives award, but reveals struggle with rising costs

Blyth Wildlife Rescue founders John Anderson and his mother Vicky have been handed the David Amess UK Wildlife Rescue Award from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

The pair founded their charity back in 2006 and now, 16 years later, rescue thousands of creatures a year.

They operate 24/7 to rescue and rehabilitate a variety of animals from across Northumberland, and most recently rescued a wallaby spotted on the loose in Gateshead.

Mr Anderson, 34 from Ashington, said they started by taking in hedgehogs, and things snowballed from there.

He said: “The numbers that we were taking in were clearly beyond what a single person could do, so we gave it a name and started a website.

“It has spiralled out of control from there and taken over our lives, and the lives of many of the other people that have joined us along the way as well.”

The charity is busier than ever, receiving up to 60 calls and messages a day in the summer. They also look after injured or sick animals, which can involve intensive care or hand-rearing babies.

Mr Andreson said: “The eventual view is to release some of these animals back into the wild once they are deemed fit enough, and that brings to an end a very long, painful, exhaustive and expensive process.

“That is what you hope to achieve because if we do not achieve that, then it is not worth doing.”

John and Vicky have a team of more than 30 volunteers to help, but no one is paid a salary.

He added: “Dedicated volunteers are required to fulfil the workloads, which are very taxing, not to mention the things that volunteers are exposed to in terms of the injuries and scenarios.

“Some people can't handle it and they have to leave as a result, but then there are those that have been with us many years, and continue to be the backbone of everything that we do.

“They have been there on that journey with us.”

The ongoing cost of living crisis is also impacting Blyth Wildlife Rescue.

Mr Anderson said: “The way things are, everything's costing much, much, more.

“Requests from the public also continue to rise, as do costs, so it's an unstoppable train for us.

“It doesn't matter how much people love their work, they just haven't got the money to give at the moment and there's not a lot of ways around that.

“We certainly can’t charge the patients, that is for sure.”

The organisation has been the victim of vandalism, arson and theft, but Mr Anderson and the volunteers are determined to keep going.

He added: “You can't just decide that you don't want to do this anymore. You can't do it.

“Animals are entrusted into your care and you have to look after them as if they were your children.”

You can donate £5 to support Blyth Wildlife Rescue by texting BLYTHWILDLIFE to 70085.