Country: Fixing the mole

Angela Wilkes joins a first-aid course for wildlife

Rescuing injured wild animals isn't easy. An oiled guillemot will stab its saviour's eyeball; a seal has Rottweiler jaws and can bite with remarkable speed; a tawny owl can lock tendons to make its feet virtually inseparable from its rescuer's hand.

Yet many animals would not be injured in the first place if it weren't for us - and our toxic waste, litter, poisons, snares, guns, discarded fishing tackle and vehicles. At least 50,000 badgers are killed on the roads each year, says the National Federation of Badger Groups, a fifth of the total badger population. Much of this wholesale slaughter is hidden, with hundreds of thousands more native British mammals and birds dying unseen, from dehydration, gangrene and flyblow.

No wonder more and more people are guiltily trying to pick up the pieces, taking the injured wildlife to the nearest vet or animal rescue centre. And now there is, by popular demand, a first-aid course for wildlife run by the RSPCA at its Mallydams Wood education centre near Hastings, East Sussex. The centre was originally meant for the RSPCA's own staff, then was extended to volunteer wildlife rehabilitators and other interested members of the public.

The charity also runs three big specialist wildlife hospitals (in Cheshire, Somerset and Norfolk). Much of the expensive, state-of-the-art equipment and surgical expertise in these has been adapted from experience with pets and farm animals.

The RSPCA estimates that at least 700 independent animal rescue and rehabilitation units are operating throughout this country. Anyone who calls the RSPCA's 24-hour emergency line with a wildlife casualty is given the address of the nearest unit.

Getting the injured or sick animal to a vet or wildlife rescue centre fast should be the first-aider's top priority, says Richard Thompson, an RSPCA wildlife officer. Ideally, that should be within six hours. "And often, an animal's best chance of survival rests with the quality of the first aid it has received," he says.

But it is important not to cut corners in the rush. Witness the man who heaved 30lb of unconscious badger on to his car passenger seat. By the time he had got round to the driver's door, the badger was up on the dashboard. Its would-be rescuer quickly let it out, unexamined and untreated.

Another rescue bid, of a swan that appeared to be stuck in a frozen pond, also went wrong when a young man fell through the ice. Other people have freed snared foxes and badgers by cutting the wire. But the animals have run off with the snare's noose still cutting into deep, encircling wounds.

Plan ahead, move deliberately and slowly, and know your limitations, advises Mr Thompson. Wildlife first aid should do the same as its human equivalent: preserve life, prevent deterioration and promote recovery. Here are 10 vital pointers to help wildlife first-aiders do just that.

1. Be safe. Check traffic, landslip possibilities, live current, incoming tides etc. Don't try to shift anything too big or fierce, solo. Better to call an animal ambulance than muff it. Pinpoint the location; map references help when it comes to releasing the animal (a badger may be killed as an intruder if on the wrong ground).

2. Be aware of pollutants, poisons (Warfarin from bait can enter the skin), and diseases (rabies, leptospirosis, chlamydia, bird-lung, etc) that can be passed on to humans. Wear goggles (remember, some birds have beaks sharp enough to harpoon fish). Leather gardening gloves protect from bites, pecks and scratches.

3. Catch the animal. If the casualty is up and running you may get only one chance, so move slowly, keeping yourself between it and the escape route. Try to back it into a corner, or outhouse. You could throw over a towel, scarf or coat, so that the animal is wrapped round to restrain limbs or wings. Indoors, turn off lights to calm the animal down.

4. Monitor the casualty. Write down what you see, and watch what comes out at either end. Cover the animal's head to reduce stress. Keep dogs and onlookers away. Remember, an unconscious animal can come round, or deteriorate, suddenly.

5. Secure the casualty. Make sure the box/cage/sack is shut tight, but ventilated. Remember foxes can bite through wire, cardboard and baskets. Put birds into boxes, not cages, to avoid feather/wing damage. Restrict noise and handling to minimise stress.

6. Do an `ABC': make sure the Airway is clear. Put the animal in the best position for easy Breathing. Check Circulation. Mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and heart massage aren't, of course, practicable options. But you can stem bleeding by direct pressure on an artery. Don't remove tight wires, etc. They may be stopping blood loss.

7. Immobilise the animal. It may have broken bones. Put rolled towels either side of it in the container (leave splinting to a vet).

8. Try to keep your trip to the rescue centre/vet short and smooth. Double- check that the container is secure - you don't want a rampant casualty loose in the car.

9. Keep the animal warm if you have to delay. Newspaper is an excellent insulator; or keep the casualty wrapped up with a hot-water bottle, or in an airing cupboard for gentle, all-round warmth. Don't overdo it - a shocked animal can't regulate its own body temperature. Don't keep it more than six hours - an unconscious animal with an unemptied bladder can die of kidney failure.

10. Record on the box lid when, where and how you found the animal, and any treatment given. Add your name and phone number.

The RSPCA will not generally release a recovered but crippled casualty that cannot cope on its own. But some animal sanctuaries will take blinded hedgehogs, three-legged foxes et al, subject to a vet's advice. It's up to you to phone in and find out what has happened to your injured animal once you've handed it over. Vets are obliged, by a voluntary British Veterinary Association directive, to treat wildlife emergencies free.

The RSPCA has a 24-hour animal emergency line (0990 555999). Details of animal courses for adults and children from RSPCA, Mallydams Wood, Peter James Lane, Fairlight, East Sussex TN35 4AH (01424 812055), pounds 10 or pounds 15 a day. Brochure of day courses for children (centres nationwide, book early) from RSPCA Education, HQ, Causeway, Horsham, West Sussex, RHI2 IHG (01403 264181). The RSPCA lists members of the British Wildlife Rehabilitators Council. Tiggywinkle's Wildlife Hospital Trust, Aston Road, Haddenham, Aylesbury, Bucks HP17 8AF lists 200 members of the European Wildlife Rehabilitators Association and has a 24-hour casualty advice line (01844 292292).