There's still time to get your tickets for this year's Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition Symposium, on 21 November 2009 at Writtle College, Essex, hosted by the British Wildlife Rehabilitation Council - download a booking form from the BWRC website at
www.bwrc.org.uk. Tickets are £30/group booking rate £28/students £20/Writtle staff & students £15, including a buffet lunch & refreshments throughout the day.
The theme of the Symposium this year, & the focus of our speakers, is scientific research into wildlife rehabilitation, but we will also be using the opportunity to hold a live, open forum discussion regarding the potential future impact of the Animal Welfare Act 2006 (and subsequent secondary legislation) on practicing wildlife rehabilitators in the UK. To find out more, visit
www.bwrc.org.uk - then
have your say! Download and complete the BWRC's short questionnaire and return it to us - then join us on the day to find out the results of our survey & contribute to the debate.
In the latest issue of the BWRC's newsletter, 'The Rehabilitator', we interviewed some of the speakers to find out more about them, their work & their views on wildlife rehabilitation. We are delighted that Liz Mullineaux, co-editor of the BSAVA Manual of Wildlife Rehabilitation, will be speaking this year - here's what she had to say in her interview...
Tea Break Interview: Elizabeth Mullineaux Liz Mullineaux is a practicing vet in Somerset who is also currently writing up her clinical doctorate on ‘The factors affecting the rehabilitation and release of adult badger casualties’. She will be presenting some of her findings from this work – focusing on reasons for presentation of casualties and outcomes following treatment – at November’s Symposium. The Rehabilitator interviewed Liz to find out more about her, and the part that wildlife rehabilitation plays in her life as a vet… TR: What do you like most about being a vet? EM: Currently the variety; I work part-time in small animal practice and part-time doing badger things… some writing, editing… etc. etc.
TR: How did you come to get involved in wildlife rehabilitation? EM: My parents were keen ornithologists who gave me an interest in wildlife work. I became a vet for Secret World Wildlife Rescue in 1996.
TR: Why is wildlife rehabilitation important to you? EM: Vets are generally expected to do some wildlife work, and yet there’s little information out there about what to do and why, and the effects we subsequently have on individual animals and their ecology following releases. Knowing more, so we can do it better, is what’s important.
TR: So how can rehabilitators get involved in and help to progress research in the field? EM: They should aim to keep good records, so if anyone then wants to look into something they can. I really feel this is a poorly under-used resource.
TR: If you could change one thing about wildlife rehabilitation in the UK, what would it be? EM: It’s confrontational, I know, but I think some form of registration of centres (and vets) dealing with wildlife is needed. Full licensing has obvious disadvantages but at the moment we don’t have much idea who is doing what and how.
TR: Have you come across any particularly difficult species to rehabilitate? EM: Adult foxes always seem to be on a suicide mission in captivity!
TR: If you could see any animal in the world in its natural habitat, what would it be? EM: At the moment I’d say polar bears, but only without lots of other tourists! I’m actually more interested in environments than individual animals though; a day in the rainforest wondering what I might see would be more exciting than seeing one species.
TR: What is the most interesting rehabilitation-related project you have come across recently? EM: It’s not really rehabilitation, but the whole badger vaccine research project and its implications are obviously of great interest to me.
TR: What future work, or research, would you like to see done? EM: More on the success, or otherwise, of rehabilitation, especially post-release monitoring of common casualties.
TR: What was your best subject at school? EM: Maths, though I stopped it at O-Level as I was told to do sciences at A-Level if I wanted to be a vet.
TR: What are your hobbies? EM: Running, gardening, travel, modern English literature and… badgers!
The BWRC Steering Committee would like to thank Liz for agreeing to speak at this year’s Symposium.
To join the newsletter mailing list, email
janet@bwrc.org.uk.
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