THE WCB IS A PERFECT 'MINIMUM STANDARD' START TO SELF REGULATION
WHO ARE THE EXPERTS BEHIND THE WCB?
The WCB launched in Feb. 2022 & was developed over a YEAR of seemingly endless Zoom meetings, by Wildlife Rescues & Rehabbers (from tiny one man/woman set ups to large centres) as well as Vets (both wildlife specific & general practice) & Vet Nurses.
It was developed BY Wildlife Professionals FOR Wildlife Professionals.
Check out the CORE DEVELOPMENT TEAM who attended most of the WCB Development meetings.
AS A RESULT, EVERYTHING ASKED FOR AS MINIMUM PROOF OF WELFARE STANDARDS (FOR RESCUES/REHABBERS TO ACHIEVE THE WCB) HAS BEEN DECIDED BY WILDLIFE PROFESSIONALS THEMSELVES (FROM EVERY BACKGROUND & SET UP) TO BE EASILY ACHIEVABLE.
WHAT EXPERT WILDLIFE CARE STANDARDS HAVE THE BADGES BEEN BASED ON?
The WCB has been drafted - and is based on - already recognised standards from the RSPCA, BWRC, BVZS and the BSAVA that Wildlife Rehabbers (even lone Rehabbers, working out of their homes) should ALL be already meeting as a minimum standard of care.
THERE ARE TWO WCB BADGES (THE REHAB, RELEASE & TRANSIT BADGE & THE LONG TERM CARE BADGE).
YOU CAN FIND OUT ABOUT THEM BY CLICKING THE BUTTON BELOW.
HOW DOES A WILDLIFE RESCUE/REHABBER GET THE RR&T BADGE?
​
[THE LTC BADGE IS STILL AT THE VERY LAST STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT (AND YET TO BE LAUNCHED)]
Wildlife Rescues/Rehabbers are asked for a number of things, to get the badge: proof of knowledge on the species they take in, proof of a suitable premises & proof of continual, high welfare care.
The WCB is not asking for this proof because there are doubts that WCB applicants are professional, knowledgeable, working with a great Vet and well set up and clean and totally brilliant: the WCB is asking for proof because somewhere (perhaps lots of somewheres) there are Rescues/Rehabbers that aren’t.
This is about taking everything personal out of wildlife rescue and shining the spotlight 100% on the rights and well being of wildlife casualties and that can ONLY happen with full transparency and accountability, across the board.
​
The hope is then that members of the public can be made aware of the WCB accreditation and start to use our MAP in order to make sure that they only take wildlife casualties to high welfare spaces and to knowledgeable, experienced people. (Wildlife casualties can therefore, we hope, be prevented from being taken to well intentioned but ill informed and unsuitably established Rehabbers - often untrained and inexperienced, most of the time not really working with a Vet - who can accidentally do a lot more harm than good to the wildlife casualties in their care).
​
[If you are a Wildlife Rescue/Rehabber reading this: I expect that you're probably amazing. What the WCB is asking for is that you set an example for everyone else - who perhaps isn’t as great, currently - that you have been happy to prove your level of care (for the sake of wildlife welfare, nationwide) so there’s no reason for others not to do the same.]
APPLY FOR THE RR&T BADGE
​
A​ Wildlife Rescue/Rehabber applies for the RR&T Badge by filling in this FORM. This makes sure that you're in the WCB database, so that we can help you to get the RR&T Badge as efficiently and easily as possible. The next step is signing up for your KA (with any 'unsupervised' staff/volunteers who might need to do it too, see below)...
​
​
KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENTS
RR&T Badge Holders prove your knowledge & experience by sitting either a 1hr or 90mins (depending on how many species they rehab) online quiz.
The Wildlife Care Badge (WCB) Knowledge Assessments cover some vital points that all rehabilitators should know to ensure that you are acting both within the law and with the animals’ best interests in mind.
​
Any 'UNSUPERVISED STAFF/VOLUNTEERS' need to take the KA (so that it can be proven that there is the same high level of knowledge across the whole Rescue) and you can see what 'Supervised/Unsupervised' means HERE.
​
The KAs can be held on Zoom or via another video service, like Facebook Video Call. They can be done by signing up for one of the GROUP EXAMS or by using the same FORM to request either your own one-to-one KA or to ask to book in a time that is just for your Rescue staff/volunteers to do your own separate KA, away from other Rescues/Rehabbers.
​
[REHABBERS GET 3 GOES AT THE KA, THEN THEY MUST WAIT 3 MONTHS TO TAKE IT A 4TH TIME, ANOTHER 3 MONTHS TO TAKE IT A 5TH TIME AND THEN, SHOULD THEY STILL BE STRUGGLING, THEY WOULD BE ASKED TO WAIT 6 MONTHS - AND GIVEN RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COURSES, TRAINING & RESEARCH TO HELP THEM TO IMPROVE THEIR KNOWLEDGE BASE - UNTIL THEY APPLY TO TAKE IT AGAIN.
​
AS THE WCB IS ABOUT SUPPORTING EVERYONE UP TO THE HIGHEST STANDARD, IF A REHABBER IS AT ALL WORRIED ABOUT PASSING THE KA, THEY CAN ASK TO BE MENTORED BY ONE OF OUR CURRENT WCB HOLDERS, TO HELP THEM GAIN THE CONFIDENCE & KNOWLEDGE THAT THEY NEED TO PASS THE KNOWLEDGE ASSESSMENT.]
VETERINARY VISITS
You invite either your Vet Surgeon OR a Vet Nurse who works alongside your Vet to come and visit/check your premises. (If you are a new Rescue/Rehabber and are looking to build a relationship with a new Vet Practice, to get started, please feel free to CONTACT the WCB to ask for the 'Vet Support Package', offering advice on reaching out and building a relationship with your local Vet Practice). A Vet Surgeon or RVN either visits the Rescue/Rehabber premises in person or does a video call where they are walked around the premises.
The Vet/RVN will have been given in advance - by you, from us, that will be sent to you when you pass your KA - a Vet Checklist Report (created by one of the top Wildlife Vets in the country) and a pdf list, also created by Wildlife Vet Professionals, of so called 'Red Flags' to look out for. Every Vet/RVN will therefore have the tools/info that they need to know what to look for in a premises and what important questions to ask and then they email their report directly to the WCB team.
If a Wildlife Rescue is set up as a 'hub' (outsourcing wildlife casualties to Rehabbers/Fosterers/Carers off site, as well as having a central base) then... As well as the Vet visiting your main base - that might just be your home - you will also need to get dated photos (proving the date they were taken) from your Rehabbers/Fosterers/Carers of their premises, in as much detail as possible, to be sent to you in advance, for you to either... 1. Show your Vet/RVN when they visit you in person or 2. Email to your Vet/RVN for them to see, either immediately before or after their Vet Video Visit.​​
​
ONGOING ACCOUNTABILITY
​
When a Rescue/Rehabber gets the RR&T Badge, we just require ongoing accountability...
​
This requirement has 2 goals and should take around 5 minutes every 3 months - every quarter - to achieve: 1. To ensure the very best care of our UK wildlife casualties. 2. To build badly needed transparency and trust between our UK Wildlife Rescuers & Rehabbers.
​
[Q. Why is it being asked for and why is it so essential? A. It is essential because almost everyone can START well but then fail to MAINTAIN high welfare practices over time. Almost anyone can make one big effort to have a clean, orderly premises for their Vet visit and they can start off as a Badge Holder who takes wildlife casualties to their Vets whenever needed too. They can even have the best of intentions with regards to keeping records, in the excitement of applying for and receiving the WCB. The hard part is maintaining high standards, especially when it’s very busy (this is when a Rescue/Rehabber can start to fall behind on keeping records or can even start to avoid the cost of taking casualties to their Vets, both for assessment and to be given the right, legal medication, because the fundraising for Vets bills feels too difficult). And when Rescues/Rehabbers start to neglect these practices (that are essential in offering high welfare care) of course they are aware that they are letting the animals down and so they claim that they are a Rescue/Rehabber who of course keeps excellent records - and perhaps they even claim to be a Rescue/Rehabber who works side by side with their Vets in all matters - but at the end of the day, as no one is asking for proof of high, continual conditions, it's the wildlife casualties who suffer.]
The quarterly accountability will only require documents that you already have, that you just need to attach and send us copies of (blacking out any GDPR sensitive information).
​
RR&T Badge Holders will upload through this FORM (every quarter) the following...
​
A. Admission records for the last 3 months (nothing complicated, just what’s come in and why AND we ask you to blank out/remove any GDPR sensitive material, like names, addresses, donations etc). This is also a unique opportunity for research - if all Rescues/Rehabbers agree for their admission records to be collated - to create a hub of knowledge across the UK....
B. Proof of working with a Vets over the last 3 months. Just attach a picture of either.... Vet bill / Consult notes / Signed letter from Vets etc... [Now, if you are are Hedgehog Rescue, for instance, and you don't need to see your Vet over the quiet months, all we need is a quick sentence from your Vet - that all Vets so far seem very happy to provide, as there is a lot of Vet support, for the WCB - letting us know that they are still happy and confident in your working relationship.]
C. Notes for 1 of your cases - Admission info, plan of action for that animal and outcome. (Just to show that info is being kept about the casualties).​​
​
​
ANNUAL BADGE RENEWAL
​
Renewing the RR&T Badge each year requires the same procedures as getting the RR&T Badge for the first time: yourself & your staff/volunteers take a similar KA and have the same Veterinary checks and commit to the same ongoing accountability. The only extra requirement is proof of an extra 15 hours of CPD learning the year before (mirroring the professional requirements of Vet Professionals having to provide proof of keeping on top of current research and procedures). These can be online/in person courses, reading research papers or attending online/in person conferences.