Tiggywinkles (the world’s leading wildlife hospital)
Tiggywinkles in Haddenham (a large village with four ponds) is England’s best-known wildlife hospital that takes in local creatures, and runs a nationwide emergency phone helpline. It saves all creatures (not just hedgehogs).
Read our post on how to help your local wildlife rescue.
Founded by a couple with no medical knowledge, the co-founder eventually wrote a wildlife rescue manual, that is now used by vets. It also runs training courses for volunteers, plus diplomas for wildlife rescuers, vets and vet nurses.
Most creatures are returned to the wild. Those not able to (like blind hedgehogs or three-legged deer) live in near-natural conditions in the grounds, where they can live the rest of their lives in safety.
An easy way to raise funds is to sign up with easyfundraising (nominate Tiggywinkles, then anytime you buy things with shops or services, it donates a portion of profits, at no cost to you). Or donate anonymously via Charities Aid Foundation.
Buy a Virtual Gift for Tiggywinkles!
Rather than buy another tea towel or mug, you can buy a virtual gift to help Tiggywinkles. These include a link to videos to show your gift has helped:
- An x-ray for an injured hedgehog. Around two thirds of the 3000 hedgehogs at the centre need an x-ray to check for broken bones, abdominal trauma or bowel abnormalities, so vets know how to treat them.
- Treat a hedgehog with balloon syndrome (the cause is unknown but many hogs suffer from this, so they can’t curl up, making them vulnerable to predators). The treatment involves extracting air from the body, and a course of antibiotics, along with fluids and other treatments.
- Feed a fox cub – this covers the cost of feeding sick, injured and orphaned cubs, starting on milk and then proper food, to make them strong enough to be released to the wild.
- Mend a bird of prey’s injured wing (over 200 injured birds including owls, red kites and kestrels are treated yearly at Tiggywinkles, half with wing injuries. It’s really important to mend these properly, as they need perfect wings to fly silently at night, so prey can’t hear them.
- Raven enrichment – these are some of the world’s most intelligent birds, so while they are in the wildlife hospital, this gift pays for enrichment activities, to stop them getting bored.
- Dental treatment for hedgehogs (this pays for specialist treatment that can scale and polish hedgehog teeth, to prevent pain that can stop them from eating, if untreated).
- Lungworm treatment for hedgehogs and foxes (many creatures arrive with this, which can kill if not treated). This gift pays for a quick faecal sample to verify infestation, then treatment. You can also buy gapeworm treatment for owls (a throat parasite that can affect eating, drinking and breathing).
- Deer bandages (and for other creatures) to help those who arrive with limb injuries due to road collisions, fence entrapments or dog bites.
- You can even buy a bucket of maggots, to feed the 400 baby birds who cry out all day to be fed every 15 minutes from dawn to dust – they get through seven buckets a week!
