Roberta Ross, who is the founder of the centre, runs Jersey Wildlife Rescue on a voluntary basis using her own savings.
‘It’s almost entirely self-funded,’ she said. ‘I work from September through to April and don’t go on holiday but save, so that come March or April I can work full-time volunteering with what I have earned.
‘I’ve invested probably about £1,300 in the last week-and-a-half to purchase new cages and incubators for the baby birds to go in.
‘I did also receive a donation from Action for Wildlife Jersey to buy some incubators and people do buy little bits of equipment and food off Amazon for me. This year I’ll probably fund about £8,000 altogether. It’s a chunk of my salary but it’s worth it. It’s really rewarding.’
Ms Ross explained she set up Jersey Wildlife Rescue in 2012, after being made redundant, and began with just rescuing birds but now cares for a variety of animals.
‘Last year I had squirrels, shrews, rabbits, mice, moles,’ she said. ‘I even had a lizard. The only species I don’t take are bats – which need a specific licence from the government to handle – and seagulls as there are so many and I don’t have the space.
She added: ‘We have just had the States chief vet come out to do an inspection.
‘He was happy with everything so is going to renew our annual licence to protect wildlife. We should hopefully be open full time to everyone and anyone
that needs help, which is really exciting.’
