The Wildlife Care Badge (WCB) Knowledge Assessment covers some vital points that all rehabilitators should know to ensure that they are acting both within the law and with the animals’ best interests in mind.

 

This revision guide gives you the outline of the subjects that the assessment will cover and gives you an idea of subjects that it may be useful to refresh your memory on!

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In order to pass the Knowledge Assessment you must achieve 75% in each section.

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LEGISLATION (5 QUESTIONS)

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It is vital that all rehabilitators are up to date with current legislation regarding wildlife so that they not only act within the law but give accurate advice to members of the public. 

 

The most common pieces of legislation affecting wildlife rehabilitation are: 

 

- Animal Welfare Act 2006

- The Data Protection Act 2018

- The Invasive Alien Species (Enforcement and Permitting) Order 2019

- Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966

- The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981

- Wild Mammals (Protection) Act 1996
- There are many other species-specific pieces of legislation including: 

- Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976

- Deer Act 1991

- The Protection of Badgers Act 1992

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BIOSECURITY & HYGIENE (5 QUESTIONS)

Minimising the spread of disease is extremely important within wildlife rehabilitation.

 

This section covers topics such as:

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- Disinfectants and their use

- Notifiable diseases

- Personal Protective Equipment

- Zoonotic diseases

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TRIAGE & FIRST AID (5 QUESTIONS)

While rehabilitators cannot make diagnosis or prescribe medications, they should be able to triage a casualty and provide first aid where necessary.

 

This section covers topics such as:

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- Basic animal first aid

- Factors affecting treatment

- Recognising emergencies 

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CAPTURE & HANDLING (5 QUESTIONS)

Wildlife rehabilitators should be able to assist with capture of casualties and handle them in a way that minimises stress and the chance of further injury.

This section covers topics such as:

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- Appropriate confinement

- Risk assessing situations

- Ensuring human and animal safety

- Handling and restraint techniques

- Risk assessing situations

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ANIMAL SPECIFIC SECTIONS (15 QUESTIONS PER CATEGORY)

You will have received a form asking you to fill in which species you care for. You will only be expected to answer questions on the species you selected.

These sections are split into four categories:

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- Birds

- Hedgehogs

- Large terrestrial mammals

- Small mammals (excluding Hedgehogs)

(Please notes that Hedgehogs have their own category as there are an extremely high number of Hedgehog only rescues. While we appreciate there may be other species specific rescues, the number of these rescues is significantly lower and it would be unsustainable to break each category down further)

These sections include topics such as:

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- Basic anatomy

- Behaviours

- Diet

- Housing
 

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REVISION RESOURCES

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BSAVA Manual of Wildlife Casualties (2nd Edition)
Mullineaux E, Keeble E (Eds.) (2016) BSAVA Publications, Gloucester
Available from: https://www.bsavalibrary.com/content/book/10.22233/9781910443316

 

Defra Notifiable disease disinfectants list
Available at: http://disinfectants.defra.gov.uk/DisinfectantsExternal/Default.aspx?Module=ApprovalsList_SI 

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Good Practice Guidelines for Wildlife Rehabilitation Centres

British Veterinary Zoological Society 2016 (open access)

 

Garden Wildlife Health Disease Fact Sheets 

https://www.gardenwildlifehealth.org/garden-wildlife/

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Introduction to Wildlife Rescue, Rehabilitation and Release Mullineaux E (Ed.) (2022) Secret World Wildlife Rescue

 

Practical Wildlife Care, Second Edition Les Stocker

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Safe4 data (dilutions and contact times)
Available at: https://safe4disinfectant.com/data.php

 

The Wildlife Trust (click on the links at the bottom of the page to read the legislation)

UK Wildlife Law | The Wildlife Trusts

 

Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966

Veterinary Surgeons Act 1966 (legislation.gov.uk)

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ADDITIONAL BIRD REVISION LINKS

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6 Bird Beak Types and How Birds Use Them to Eat - Birds and Blooms

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Tawny Owl (hawkandowltrust.org)

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https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/keeping-wild-birds-registration-of-schedule-4-birds

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https://www.gwexotics.com/for-vet-professionals/articles/raptors-birds-of-prey

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(Note: The information in ‘First Aid and Emergency Care of Falconry Birds' by Neil Forbes also holds useful information about signs of ill health and emergencies in other bird casualties)

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6940729/

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https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7647854/

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ADDITIONAL HEDGEHOG REVISION RESEARCH

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https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32825054/

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