{"id":212401,"date":"2025-06-25T06:05:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T06:05:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/212401\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T06:05:10","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T06:05:10","slug":"rspca-reveals-top-five-wild-animals-in-wales-who-need-your-help","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/212401\/","title":{"rendered":"RSPCA reveals top five wild animals in Wales who need your help"},"content":{"rendered":"

The RSPCA has revealed that hedgehogs are the wildlife most likely to need help this summer in Wales \u2013 as the animal welfare charity launches a new \u2018Local Animal Hero\u2019 guide to mobilise local residents to help sick and injured animals.<\/strong><\/p>\n

New findings from the RSPCA\u2019s new 2025 Animal Kindness Index, the charity\u2019s annual survey into the UK\u2019s attitude towards animals, shows that 53% of people in Wales don\u2019t feel confident about what to do if they find sick or injured wildlife.<\/p>\n

In response, the animal welfare charity is calling on people across the country to be a Local Animal Hero. Their new training video, featuring RSPCA Animal Rescue Officer Emma Baker, aims to teach local residents how to help small wild animals and pets in need and\u00a0create their own rescue box.<\/p>\n

While many animals need specialist support, there are lots of small wildlife and pets which people can safely help. Of these, hedgehogs were the wild animals most likely to need public help across England and Wales \u2013 with 9,546 entering RSPCA centres in 2024, followed by wood pigeons (6,521), mallard ducks (3,806), feral pigeons (2,909) and blackbirds (1,782). The charity said that while they cared for more than 47,000 animals last year, often people don\u2019t realise the fastest way to get many small animals help is to take them to a local vet themselves.<\/p>\n

RSPCA supporter ornithologist and environmentalist, Dr Mya-Rose Craig, has joined the call for people in Wales to take the first step to learning how they can help wildlife in need in their neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cThe RSPCA\u2019s Animal Kindness Index shows that while many people in Wales want to do their bit, many would struggle to know what to do if they came across an animal in need. By learning to become a Local Animal Hero, anyone can find out what to do if they find a sick or injured animal who needs help. Learning how to safely handle small wildlife or pets and building a rescue box to keep in your car can make a big difference for animals.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo matter where in the country you are, there are so many different animals that share our environment \u2013 and it\u2019s up to us to help make sure that they are living their best lives this summer too. By doing a kind act this summer, we can all help to create a better world for every animal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Last year, more than 10,000 animals were admitted to the RSPCA\u2019s four wildlife centres \u2013 with more than a quarter of those in June and July alone. Reasons included animals being orphaned, injured, attacked by another animal or collisions with vehicles.<\/p>\n

And with June and July also being the busiest months for the RSPCA dealing with cruelty and neglect calls too, help from the public frees up the charity\u2019s frontline officers to help even more animals.<\/p>\n

It comes as 61% of Wales people say that protecting wildlife is the most important issue the animal welfare charity should be dealing with \u2013 while more than nine in 10 people say that wildlife needs to be protected in our towns and cities, as well as in the countryside.<\/p>\n

Gemma Hope, the RSPCA\u2019s Assistant Director for Policy, Advocacy and Evidence, explained that the Animal Kindness Index results show a rise in concern about wildlife this year.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cThis year\u2019s Animal Kindness Index shows high levels of concern for the future of wildlife.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the world is uncertain and volatile, people may feel protective over the world around them, including the animals that share their neighbourhood \u2013 and 78% of people in Wales thought that human survival depends on protecting the survival of wildlife.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe RSPCA is committed to creating a kinder world for every animal, but we can\u2019t do it without help from the public \u2013 so we really hope our new video inspires people to get involved and become Local Animal Heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Take a kind act for animals this summer and learn how to be a Local Animal Hero. Visit\u00a0rspca.org.uk\/rescuebox to watch the video and sign up to get your Animal Hero badge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The RSPCA has revealed that hedgehogs are the wildlife most likely to need help this summer in Wales…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212402,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5010],"tags":[748,4884,84599,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-212401","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wales","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-rspca-cymru","11":"tag-uk","12":"tag-united-kingdom","13":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114742501373607190","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212401","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212401"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212401\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}