24/05/2025
Every year, as we enter our busiest, most demanding time of year, we see a noticeable rise in rudeness and distressing behaviour towards our team, on the phone, online, and in person, and we feel it’s time to address this openly.
We are in the midst of our busiest season of the year, and our busiest year on record. While we wish we could be everywhere at once, we ask you to remember the people behind the scenes, stretched thin, and doing their absolute best to help wildlife casualties.
New Arc Wildlife Rescue is a small charity with a small team of dedicated staff and volunteers, working seven days a week, 365 days a year to rescue, rehabilitate and care for injured and orphaned wildlife. The same hands answering your call may have just come from tending to a critical patient, returning from a rescue in the field, or spending the night hand-rearing infants...we do not have a dedicated reception team.
💔 We’ve had distressing calls where people have threatened to let animals die if we can’t attend immediately, even in situations where the animal could reasonably be contained and transported by the caller (like a small bird brought in by a cat). We’ve also been accused of not caring or being useless when we’re unable to respond right away. This kind of emotional blackmail is not only unfair, but also deeply hurtful to those who have devoted their lives to helping wildlife.
Here are a few ways you can support us during this challenging time:
🚗 If you’re able to safely contain and transport a small animal to us, or enlist the help of family/friends to do so, please do. It can mean the difference between life and death for the casualty. We have limited vehicles, staff, and volunteers, and we simply cannot be everywhere all at once. Out of hours, our co-manager Paul volunteers his own time, after long days of work at the centre, to respond to wildlife emergencies, especially involving deer hit by cars. One person cannot be in multiple places at the same time. We ask that you follow the guidance on our voicemail or from our team whenever possible.
📞 During normal hours, please take a moment to listen carefully to the phone options and follow the advice. This helps us keep the line open for genuine emergencies and ensures animals in need are not delayed in receiving care.
🔍 Please follow the advice we give, whether that’s placing a fledgling back where it was found, monitoring the situation for a little while, or boxing a casualty right away. With over 20 years of experience triaging wildlife calls, the New Arc Wildlife Rescue team is highly trained in identifying the best course of action based on species, age, condition, and time of year.
Our guidance is given with the animal’s welfare in mind, whether that leads to releasing, rearing, rehabilitating, or, in the saddest cases, euthanising. Arguing against our guidance in hopes of getting healthy animals admitted into care does not help wildlife and adds pressure to an already overstretched team and facility.
💚 It costs nothing to be kind. Please remember that we are people just like you, trying our very best, every single day, for the wild lives that depend on us.
Thank you for your understanding, your kindness, and for standing with us in our mission to protect and care for Scotland’s wildlife.
