Wildlife rescuers issue plea to public as animal injury crisis unfolds: 'Bursting at the seams'

A small wildlife rescue in East Sussex is asking for help as it struggles to care for a growing number of injured and orphaned gulls.

According to The Argus, the East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service helped 746 gulls in 2024, but the number is growing and making the mission almost impossible to handle. Now that summer is coming up, things will be even more difficult. So, it asked for help in a Facebook post.

WRAS warned that summer is its busiest time of year, with up to 70 rescues a day. In July alone last year, the organization responded to over 1,100 wildlife emergencies, and by the end of 2024, it had handled more than 6,600 cases.

"Our current casualty centre is bursting at the seams. At peak season, we may have over 400 animals in care at once," the charity shared on Facebook. "Despite our tireless efforts, we only have limited space for waterfowl and coastal birds."

Other rescue groups charge WRAS to take in gulls, but WRAS says it never charges others to help wildlife. That's part of what makes the situation so tough.

To keep up with the number of animals needing help, WRAS wants to build a new wildlife hospital. It's looking for five or more acres of land between Hailsham and Lewes, but most sites are "too expensive, hard to access, or unlikely to get planning permission."

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The rescue has saved money for the project but needs support, so it set up a monthly donation option for people to sign up.

It is fair to say that the issue caught locals' attention. "There's nowhere near enough volunteers to cope with what's coming," one Facebook commenter, Justin, wrote. "Thank you for acknowledging that."

WRAS founder Trevor Weeks replied: "That's why we're doing everything we can to raise funds and find land. We need a proper space to care for all these gulls — and more.

"With the busiest weeks of the year just around the corner, workers at WRAS are doing everything they can. But just as with other big missions, conservation work can't be undertaken by just one organization. These big goals require more people to put in work.