Almost every day (and night) our ambulance staff and volunteer wardens are called out to animals, especially cows, sheep and horses that have escaped from their fields and are loose on the Island’s roads putting them in grave danger.
Working at night to contain animals can be very dangerous for our volunteers who have been known to spend 2-3 hours trying to identify and locate owners and then wake them from their slumber so we can get the animals to safety.
Suzy Rose, who has volunteered as an overnight warden at the GSPCA for nearly a decade has been called to incidents where horses have been in injured in road traffic collisions. “It could have been fatal” she said. “I was standing in the road holding onto two horses in the dark while trying to put them up on social media in the hope that someone would be awake and recognise them”.
Michelle Champion another volunteer warden said “I once brought a calf to the Shelter in the ambulance one night that the police had been walking all the way up the Rue Charuee with to protect it from cars. I also did a 3am trip down to Ronez with my husband for a whole herd of cows and even though I was expecting them and driving very slowly, a black calf just appeared in my headlights. Anyone driving normal speed would have hit it! Also I once had a fun morning at 4.30am driving behind 2 donkeys that would not be caught just to protect them while I tried to locate the owner, again waking people up that didn't need to be.”
Only this week our night our warden tried to contact a farmer as their cows were loose but were met with hostility. “It took nearly two hours for the owner to get out of bed and come and help us secure the animals” said Sarah Langlois one of the ambulance drivers. All of our drivers are urging people to regularly check their fencing is fit for purpose and secure.
“The GSPCA is a Charity, we are not States funded and we offer this 24 hour service free of charge to help keep the Islands’ animals safe” said Lorna Chadwick GSPCA Welfare Manager. “It is much better for owners to get a call from us at 4am trying to help their animals than a call from the Police because the unthinkable has happened”.
While we do have access to a limited list of owners and keepers it is often hard to locate them if their phone numbers have changed or the animals can’t be identified. The GSPCA are asking people to inform them of where their animals might be, leave contact details on fences or head collars and answer our calls regardless of the time of day.
Any details will be added to a contact list that will only be used by our essential staff. This will enable us to contact you as quickly as possible so we can make your animals safe and secure. You can email your details to [email protected] send them via social media or call 257261.
Our volunteer wardens help between the hours of 6pm and 8am each night and have done so for over 40 years and we also have those that help on the weekends. If you are interested in helping please do get in touch.
Steve Byrne GSPCA Manager said "It is always a real worry when we have a call to loose stray farm animals not only for their welfare but also the public in the area."
"Farm animals and horses stray in a road pose a real danger to drivers and peoples property."
"We help hundreds of farm animals every year in many different ways from checking their welfare to rounding those escaped from their enclosures."
"We are always looking for volunteers that would be willing to help cover our warden shifts especially on the weekends and anyone interested please do call us on 257261 or email [email protected] ."
In line with States of Guernsey advice please DO NOT visit the GSPCA if have been outside of the Bailiwick of Guernsey in line with their advice or have any symptoms of Coronavirus and we continue visits to the Shelter for only essential reasons and to please call us on 01481 257261 or email [email protected] before your trip to see if we can help without you coming to the Shelter. For the latest information and advice please visit http://www.gspca.org.gg/search/node/coronavirus
The GSPCA continues with all essential services and we plane to phase other services back into operation and to find out more please visit - http://www.gspca.org.gg/blog/gspca-take-cautious-approach-returning-new-normal-%E2%80%93-gspca-plan-our-services-and-volunteers-retu
With huge challenges on our resources and a drop in income from boarding and donations please help us help animals in Guernsey with our #GSPCACoronavirusCrisisAppeal by donating online via - https://giving.gg/donate/event/5876/GSPCA-Coronavirus-Emergency-Appeal
During these difficult times help us help animals in need. From donating to Sponsoring a Pen, Buying a Brick for the much needed Wildlife Hospital to our Amazon and main page Wish List, holding a mufti day to a sponsored Christmas dip, here are some of the ways you could help give animals joy.
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