Guidelines for wildlife rehabilitation centres

Extract

The British Veterinary Zoological Society (BVZS) has recently published ‘Good Practice Guidelines for Wildlife Rehabilitation Centres’. The BVZS note that there is a lack of legislation intended to specifically protect the welfare of injured or displaced indigenous wild animals in the United Kingdom (UK) that may require treatment, rehabilitation and, where appropriate, release. The welfare of wild animals instead falls, to various extents, under a variety of legislative Acts, including: The Animal Welfare Act (2006); The Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981); Zoo Licensing Act (1981); and the Dangerous Wild Animals Act (1976).