SG Newsletter - Autumn 2020

In this issue... Winter 2020 Foxy Summer / CPD for Vet Nurses / 2021 Calendar NEWS STAPELEY GRANGE 2020 will certainly be one to go down in history and for us all to remember. As well as the sad loss of human life, we will undoubtedly be talking about the impact Covid 19 will be having on the environment and the global economy for years to come. Stapeley, like so many charities and businesses, have tried to continue with 'Business as Usual'. The Centre has continued to accept animals in via our Inspectorate team and any animal that has arrived via members of the public direct. Up until 25 October the Centre has received 4712 wild, 224 domestic and 10 exotic animals. 124 of which were cats taken in at the Cattery . Stapeley has a Facebook page, two twitter and now three instagrams accounts to help disseminate important information to our followers. Social media platforms have become increasingly important over the years and during lockdown we have tried to use them more and more. Whether we are promoting national campaigns around puppy farming, neutering, microchipping or fishing litter, promoting 'virtual' fundraising efforts or telling both sad and heartwarming stories around the work we do, it is all helping to promote animal welfare and hopefully inspiring all generations to get involved in conservation and animal welfare. Social platforms are an easy and free way for members of the public to help promote our work by simply sharing or retweeting our posts. Currently we have over 14,000 followers which is potentially of interest to companies wishing to advertise through our platforms and in our newsletter. As well as advertising their company they will also be supporting the work of the RSPCA. Two stories that spring to mind over the last few months are firstly the rescue, treatment and release of Zucchini, a juvenile common seal from Yorkshire. It was touch and go whether he even came in or not; as well as serious wounds he also had lungworm But we were all glad he did come in, as we were able to return him home. Zuccinhi's story not only showed how resilient wildlife casualties are but also the power of organisations to come together for the sake of a single animal. We also had Rocky (pictured below), one of our long stayers in the cattery. Rocky was not a well boy when he arrived. He not only had cat flu but also serious ear issues. It was a long road for Rockie but our staff and volunteers never gave up on him and he was finally rehomed..a great result for everyone involved. Photo by Freddy Jones Zucchini PLUS - Vets corner 10 / Our Tweets 14 / Cattery News 16 / 2021 Calendar 17 Fundraising news 22 Page 06 Page 16 Page 5 It costs Stapeley Grange £50,000 to feed the 6,000+ animals which are admitted every year. The food bill for seals alone costs £500 a week. Anyone who would like to support the vital work of Stapeley Grange can now donate online at Education News 2 WELCOME! Page 20 Another oil spill Fishing litter!! Page 11 Inside this Winter issue... A foxy summer Just one more thing... Page 8 3 Ollie's Story 3 Wildlife hospital @rspca.Stapeley Education Activities @rspcastapeleyeducation INSTAGRAM Each year at the end of summer many migratory birds, such as Manx shearwaters, razorbills and guillemots are blown off course due to high winds. These birds end up inland and many miles from the sea. Over the past few months Stapeley has admitted six Manx Shearwaters, three Razorbills and four guillemots, some of which have been found in built up areas and strange locations around the country. When this happens, we need to get them back to the coast as soon as possible. In September, we had a razorbill (pictured right) from Abersoch which had been washed up on the beach. The finder happened to work for the RSPB and when the bird was ready for release he aided us in getting it back where it belonged. One of our volunteer drivers took the Razorbill all the way to Abersoch and met up with our RSPB contact. The lucky bird was then taken by speedboat to an Island where it was released. This is just one example of the lengths the RSPCA go to, to return our animals back to the wild. On this occasion it involved a 240 mile round trip for our volunteer and RSPB contact. Two weeks later and we once again turned to our new RSPB contact for help. This time we needed to release two Manx Shearwaters. We wanted them released close to Bardsey Island in North Wales, just off the Llyn peninsula, known for its colony of Manx Shearwaters. It worked out perfectly as many Shearwaters were still on the island. Manx Shearwaters head out to sea at night, returning to their burrows at dawn, so we needed an evening release which we were able to arrange through our volunteer drivers, a RSPCA Officer and our new RSPB contact. Networking our animals around the country to ideal release sites, using our volunteer drivers, RSPCA Officers and third party organisation like the RSPB, can take some coordinating but it does give our patients the best chance of surviving, once released back in the wild. At the time of writing, we had just received a call that three more offshore birds were en route to the hospital, this time all the way from Sunderland, along with 10 hedgehogs and a gannet!! Maxine Rhodes (Wildlife Supervisor) SEA BIRDS BLOWN OFF COURSE Rehoming Cattery @rspca.stapeleycattery " Swan CNF5 - more fishing litter!! 5 4 A swan with a fishing hook deeply embedded in his neck was rescued from Holden Lane Pools in Stoke on Trent in September. The stricken bird - one of a breeding pair with two cygnets - was spotted at the angling lake by a member of public who contacted the RSPCA for help. It was a horrendous injury, with a fishing hook deeply embedded in his neck. It is only by sheer chance that the hook narrowly missed his windpipe and gullet. After the removal surgery, our vet carefully stitched up the swan’s neck and placed him on a course of painkillers and antibiotics. The swan then spent some time in isolation and was then transferred outside with our other swans and geese; he is now monitored daily. He is making good progress and should be returned home soon. It is obviously very frustrating that we continue to admit hundreds of animals in each year as a result of discarded fishing litter, not just for swans, geese and ducks but owls, herons and gulls. We know the majority of anglers are responsible but those that are throwing or leaving litter behind need to realise that it's injuring and possibly killing innocent animals. Thankfully, it looks like we will be able to return this particular swan back to its family soon but sadly others are not so lucky. We urge all anglers to follow the Angling Trust’s Take 5 campaign and make use of the recycling scheme to dispose of waste tackle and line responsibly. Swans around the country are individually identified using Darvic rings. CNF5 was originally brought in by one of our officers in October 2018, suffering with collision injuries and although it was nice to see him this time around, it will be even nicer to return him back to the wild....again!! Some footage of our cubs in their runs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X93_IBQiUjM 2020 has been a very different and difficult year for all of us due to the Covid 19 virus. Here at the hospital we have had to continue to do our very best to care for all the wildlife arriving at the centre and to follow all the covid guidelines put in place to keep us safe at the same time, easier said than done! As part of the safety measures staff have been split into small groups or bubbles which covers two shifts, 12 hours a day, seven days a week. Within my team I have had Michelle (long term wildlife assistant) and two new additions to the team for the summer, Joe and Cameron. Both Joe and Cam came to work at Stapeley as part of their University degree for a year's placement back in 2018 and had stayed in touch. They also helped out with several otter and fox releases in 2019. It was great to have the lads back with us at the center this year, as they both knew what to expect during the summer months, with the influx of animals. They also had lots of invaluable wildlife experience to support the team. One of the main areas of work during the summer is the rearing and release fox cubs and this year was no exception with a total of 34 orphaned fox cubs to look. They were split into six different family groups, pending their size. As with all youngsters they tipped over their food, made a big mess, never cleaned up after themselves and never made their beds! But we wouldn't have it any other way. It's a fantastic opportunity to see the young fox cubs grow and develop the natural skills they need to survive in the wild. Social interaction is a big part of being a young fox cub and putting them into small family groups is very important to their development. The rough and tumble of play/fight is all part and parcel of growing up. To encourage their inquisitive nature we worked hard to provide them regular enrichment, which helped keep them active. It's amazing to watch them play with a toilet roll tube or a small box with treats hidden in it. We have recorded some videos of them playing so check them out on our social media platforms which now includes instagram. Once they have reached a good size (approx 4.5 kgs) and old enough to look after themselves in the wild, it's then time to think about releasing them, and again every effort is made to do the best we can for them. At Stapeley we carry out what is known as a 'soft release' with our orphaned cubs, which is a way of supporting them as we reintroduce them back into the wild. This process introduces them to the weather elements and other wildlife around them before we say farewell. With the help of my support bubble we set to work early September to return our cubs, which involves a lot of digging!! Our release pens are built on private land and usually it's the landowner who keeps an eye on them and helps to feed them daily. The foxes are fed in the evening as this is when foxes are most active. After five days in their pen they are released into the wild. Our support doesn't stop there as we continue to feed for a further three weeks, gradually reducing their feeds to every other day, then twice a week. From previous post release monitoring of our cubs we know most leave the area within the first week or two but there is always one that hangs around for the free food! Just like teenagers! Even after all these years it's a great feeling to know that we have helped to give these animals a second chance. Seeing them released back out into the wild makes all the hard work worth it. Rob Scrivens, Wildlife Supervisor   It's been a foxy summer 6 7 The Society were made aware of yet another oil spill on a canal near Victoria Street at Clayton-le-Moors on the 5 October and were able to catch two swans, which had been blackened with the oil, almost immediately. But to save the other swans and ducks it was decided that a rescue boat and team were needed. Time was critical! A team of five RSPCA water rescue officers returned to the scene the next day to carry out the operation; they managed to catch a further three swans and an Aylesbury duck (one of the team pictured with swan below). If oil is not removed from waterbirds it reduces the natural waterproofing in their plumage, leaving them at risk of dying from hypothermia - so it was vital that they were caught and washed as soon as possible. All the birds were preening franctically to try and clean themselves up but whilst they spent time doing this, it prevented them from feeding. resulting in loss of weight and strength every day we were unable to catch them up, hence the urgency. Sadly, other birds that were affected by the oil spill had flown off which meant our local officers would have to monitor the area in case they returned, so that they could also be caught up and washed to remove the oil. All the birds were brought into Stapeley where we have specialised cleaning basins for cleaning oiled birds. It was essential that we remove the thick oil quickly, so the team set to work as soon as the birds arrived. Every oiled bird is assessed on arrival and sometimes multiple deep cleans are needed to remove all the contaminate. It can be fairly labour intensive, sometimes taking two members of staff up to 30 minutes for each wash. Cleaning just one bird can also use half a bottle of washing-up liquid if they need multiple washes to remove the oil. As there were no other injuries or concerns the washed birds, once dry, were transferred to our outside pool, where all our swans, geese and ducks are closely monitored before release. Before releasing them back, the team had to wait until the oil was either removed or for it to dissipate naturally. We finally got the green light to return our five swans two weeks later. Unlike the swans. the Aylesbury duck will now have to rehomed as it is not a wild animal. Usually domestic geese and ducks are illegally dumped onto waterways, as unwanted pets. This was our third big oil spill of the year. We have admitted 85 oiled swans, geese and ducks so far. This is on top of what has already been a busy summer!! A helping hand during Covid 19 Pictured from left to right: Joe, Rob and Cam - preparing an otter release pen I returned this year to Stapeley as a summer wildlife assistant having previously been a university placement student during 2018-19. I can say, that despite the Covid chaos, I’ve had a great summer and I can attribute this to the exciting work I’ve been involved in at the Centre. Working with a supportive and experienced team I have been able to work with a range of different species ranging from seals, foxes and badgers to a variety of smaller bird species. Covid 19 has certainly complicated how we work on a day to day basis but I feel we have all managed really well. Myself, Cameron, Rob and Michelle all worked as part of a work bubble, in order to help reduce the risk of Covid 19 spreading through the Stapeley team, which would have been disasterous. One of my fondest memories this summer involved helping to care for a group of orphaned badger cubs. We set up a camera trap on some nights so that we could watch them interacting with each other. It was fantastic to be so 'up close and personal' with such amazing creatures. I have also really enjoyed being involved in the soft release of some of our mammal species. During my placement year I was heavily involved in fox and otter releases, and this summer was no different! Prior to the most recent lockdown, Rob, Cam and I travelled to Wales to set up a soft release pen for an otter cub. A soft release for our otter cubs involves fencing off a relatively large area (suitably close to a river), and installing a large pond at the site for the otter to enjoy. The otters remain in the fenced area for around 3 weeks which gives them time to familiarise themselves with their new surroundings. Having spent roughly a year in care, this time in the temporary holding is critical and gives them the best chances of surviving in the wild. Eventually the fencing is opened up to allow our otters to venture out, but only as and when they feel ready. They are support fed for several days after as well. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing an otter exploring its new surroundings, knowing it will soon be released back to the wild, after a year in rehabilitation at the Center. Joseph Kusnyer, Summer Wildlife Assitant Yet another oil spill!! A video can be downloaded from this link: https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/sXgKj3ZlMG/Y2hlcnlsLmhhZ3VlQHJzcGNhLm9yZy51aw== 8 9 Zucchini, arrived on 21th , from Yorkshire, with severe flipper injuries which may have been caused by either a dog or another seal, we will never know. The wounds were deep and we were obviously concerned about them becoming infected. We set to work and cleaned the wounds thoroughly and applied a special wound gel to help stimulate healing. He was then given lots of TLC from the team in isolation. After a course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories Zucchini was looking much better, and we were even able to move him outside to a larger pool for the remainder of his treatment! And then on the 15th October, volunteers from the British Divers Marine Life Rescue made the 300+ miles round trip to return Zucchini back to the . On seeing the photos, I think we were all thinking the same and that Zucchini was looking back to say thanks to all those involved in rescuing him, patching him up and then returning him home. Dr Sophie Common (Vet Surgeon) 10 Zucchini - flipping heck!! Before Vet's corner Lucky escape for Buzzard 11 This buzzard arrived at Stapeley in August, via a first opinion practise, with a history of having hit power-lines. He was grounded and unable to fly. Powerlines can cause serious damage to our wildlife and sadly we do sometimes receive birds that have been electrocuted on impact. Luckily, this buzzard showed no signs of electrocution. In conservation with my work colleagues, the bird received an initial assessment and painkillers and was settled down in isolation where the team could keep a close eye on him. Even though there was no sign of electrocution, the impact of hitting the ground can sometimes cause serious issues. After receiving a full physical exam including x-rays, ophthalmic (eye) exam and a routine parasite check, it was concluded that this bird was in great body condition, with no broken bones, wounds or ocular damage. Only some bruising to the skin. All this buzzard needed was some anti-inflammatory painkillers, a safe environment, food and some time to recuperate before being returned to the wild. Dr Michaela Mateusiak (Vet Surgeon) After VET'S A video of the release can be downloaded from this link: https://spaces.hightail.com/receive/NIfxjYNxJ9/Y2hlcnlsLmhhZ3VlQHJzcGNhLm9yZy51aw== 12 https://ticketlab.co.uk/series/id/12422 https://ticketlab.co.uk/series/id/122 Chrissy says goodbye I have been interested in wildlife and exotic animal medicine almost since I first wanted to be a vet. My first experience with wildlife was when I spent some time working at the New England Wildlife Center in Massachusetts, USA prior to vet school. I really enjoyed the variety of patients and cases so, when the opportunity came up to complete an internship at RSPCA Stapeley Grange, focusing on wildlife, I took it. My previous experience with wildlife had been based in the USA so I wanted to get more exposure with British wildlife, and at the same time wanted to increase my clinical skills with species that went beyond cats and dogs, which was what I had focused on in my career until then. Over the course of the year I saw a variety of cases both good and bad. One of my most memorable cases was a heron that had been shot. After I removed the pellet from his wing, he had a course of antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. His rehabilitation went really well and we were able to release him back into the wild about 2 weeks after he first came in, which was very rewarding. Through completing the internship at Stapeley Grange I’ve learned a lot about myself but mostly that I am able to think laterally by applying knowledge I already have to help other types of patients that I may not have come across before. My time at Stapeley Grange was both educational and a lot of fun and I would recommend it to others who are also interested in wildlife medicine! Dr Christina Kleespies (Vet Surgeon) @HERCHYBOAL @RSPCA _ OFFICIAL 14 Stapeley's video collection Inspector Herchy Boal @CARARSPCA Regional Media Manager Rachel Butler TWEET tweet! Otter time - Santon and Storm at play and Orphaned otter cubs Fox cub feeding time: and Fox cub kiss chase Great crested grebe, Gulls galore and Some hungry jackdaws Some cheeky little polecats and Weasel orphan Common buzzards chicks and Cygnets in need of TLC Hoglet feeding time, Leveret release and not forgetting our Orphaned storm seals and Daffi, our orphaned otter cub Animal Welfare Officer Sonia Hulme @SONIA _ RSPCA @JOYNES85 It's not only our bird patients who tweet - we do too! We now have over 3,500 followers on our two Twitter accounts and it is growing all the time. Here is a selection of our tweets. Don't forget to follow us - @RSPCAStapeley or @StapeleyCats @RACHRSPCA The official RSPCA Twitter RSPCA inspectors, staff and centres across the country use Twitter too - here are some more accounts to follow 15 Animal Collection Officer  Cara Gibbon More RSPCA twittering Inspector Anthony Joynes Looking for loving forever homes Chillie CATTERY NEWS Limited edition 2021 Stapeley Calendars £5 each+postage / contact stapeley@rspca.org.uk 16 Apologies for the graphic picture but it's important that cat owners are made aware of possible injuries from using the wrong types of collar. Cats are natural hunters and curious explorers and enjoy pushing through tight spots. Therefore, it's imperative that any collar is designed to free the cat should they become snagged and so they don't get their leg caught in the collar, as was the case with sweet Ollie. Ollie arrived at the Cattery on the 2 July from Biddulph (Staffordshire) via one of our Officers who managed to trap him. He was reported to have been struggling for over three weeks before he was finally caught. As well as a very serious collar injury, our vets also discovered he had also been shot!! So if your cat wears a collar please take a look the following website, which helps to identify which collar is right for your cat and how to fit the collar correctly - https://icatcare.org/advice/collars/ After all the hard work from the veterinary and cattery teams staff Ollie was finally rehomed. It took us almost 3 months to get Ollie right and rehomed but we got there in the end. He had many people wanting to adopt him when he finally went up for adoption but his new owner seemed a purr-fect match for our sweet Ollie. if you find a cat on our website or our facebook page please start the process by filling out our purfect match form - https://www.rspca.org.uk/.../rehomeapet/process/rehomeacat Cassie Squeak Guzzle Great end for Ollie 19 Student Placements @ Stapeley Since the start of the year, the RSPCA has received more than 45,000 incidents relating to cats meaning there are lots of cats in our care looking for homes. The RSPCA would always encourage people to adopt a rescue cat instead of buying online. During the lockdown, there has been a 114% increase in the amount of people searching for cats to adopt on the RSPCA’s Pet a Find page compared to the previous year. It’s great to see so many people interested in adopting a rescue cat, with more than a million people visiting our cat Pet a Find page during the pandemic but, and there is always a but, we are now braced for a kitten season boom next year as routine neutering procedures have had to be put on hold during the lockdown. This means that whilst the UK is already facing a cat overpopulation crisis, we may now see even more unplanned litters of kittens. If you’ve adopted a kitten during lockdown, it’s so important to get them booked into your vets for a spay or a snip. The public needs to be aware that kittens can get pregnant from just four months old and there may be a longer wait than usual at some vet practices due to the pandemic, so it’s important to get them booked in. We believe neutering from four-months-old can help tackle the overpopulation crisis and ensure we don’t see more unwanted litters being born and putting extra strain on rescue centres like the RSPCA. Cats are popular pets with the charity rehoming 24,095 cats last year - that’s one cat rehomed every 20 minutes across England and Wales and 600 cats rehomed in Cheshire. Under the current Covid rehoming protocols anyone interested in fostering or adopting an animal from the RSPCA should visit our facebook page or our website to see which animals are available. It's been a good month so far having rehomed 11 cats but we want to rehome many more after Adoptober before year end. Due to the amount of interest we are receiving and the impact of Covid 19 on our staffing and volunteer levels, please bear with us as the cattery is very busy at this time. Thank you 18 JJ was one of our long stayers in need of a new loving forever home. He is now rehomed!! Student Dissertation A New Building is coming - We are very excited to announce that RSPCA Stapeley Education has funding for a brand new building to create additional educational space, including a new classroom and a workshop! This will increase our capacity and allow us to welcome larger numbers of visitors to our education centre for engaging curriculum based sessions on animal welfare. We hope to be able to widen our community outreach by offering educational and therapeutic sessions for people of all ages and abilities, in our secure wildlife garden and woodland area, and our new building will certainly allow us many more exciting opportunities for our local community!  news 20 Unlocking our garden's potential after lockdown As lockdown went on, and our education centre remained closed, nature took back the wildlife garden for itself. Upon returning to the centre in September, Charlie Pass, one of our Education Officers, saw all his previous hard work, designing and building new wildlife friendly areas, had been completely covered with 6 months worth of growth - brambles and stinging nettles everywhere! Charlie quickly set about getting the team out in the garden to rediscover what lay beneath the brambles and nettles. So far the team have planned a bee and butterfly friendly area with bee poles, wildflowers and butterfly feeders and a spiral herb planter area which will be used to grow herbs and veggies for some of our wildlife patients!   APPLY NOW! EDUCATION 23 https://ticketlab.co.uk/event/id/5209 Its now the season BONFIRE and Firework season is upon us and with so many shows being cancelled because of Covid 19, many families may be looking to celebrate at home. The RSPCA would urge everyone to think twice though over the coming months. We are definitely not the 'fun police' but we are worried about the impact of fireworks and bonfires on our domestic, farm, equine and wild animals. So please think twice and very carefully about building your own bonfire and/or having fireworks in the back garden. As an example...this poor hedgehog (pictured below), four of his siblings and their mum were very lucky when a bonfire was thankfully checked before lighting. We would always advise that you build your bonfire on the day to avoid accidentally killing hedgehogs that may have climbed inside. It's certainly been a challenging year with covid 19 for all charities and we are all hoping that we will get back to normal soon but fundraising has certainly been challenging thats' for sure. We had to think outside the box to generate some income in 2020. There have been so many quizzes this year but we thought we would give it a go anyway!! So with support from Michaela Strachan, Rob Biddulph and Patrick Aryee and corporate support from Sainsburys and Barclays Bank and their £4£ scheme, we were able to raise £960, which was a fantastic effort given it was our first attempt. Maybe not our last!! news 22 The Centre currently has over 60 hedgehogs. As fast as we are getting them out, they are coming in!! Donations from caring members of the public are constantly arriving at the Centre, both for the cattery and wildlife hospital. If we can't use items here we will pass them on to our field officers who will use the donated items in the field, so nothing goes to waste. We will also transfer food items between RSPCA National Animal Centres and RSPCA Branch Animal Centres to avoid any items not being used. This piles of goodies was kindly donated by RSPCA Rotherham, Doncaster and District Branch FUNDRAISING Sainsbury's shoppers have been supporting our wild and domestic animals, through food donations, for four years now. Whether it be a tin of dog or cat food (pedigree dog or Whiskas cat food), cat litter, toys or fairy liquid (which is used on oiled animals) every donation has helped. It is such a simple way of helping the Centre for customers. Every donation truly makes a difference so please keep supporting the Centre's animals. Over the coming months the Centre will be full of hedgehogs so priority for us would be tins of dog and cat food, particularly whiskas - not fish based or gravy) 17 https://vip.petsathome.com/ Choose Crewe Store to find us but shop at any Store We will benefit with any instore or online sales, spend at the Groom Rooms and Vets4Pets/Companion Care surgeries.