Found a wild animal that needs help?

Pick the animal for first-aid steps, then find the nearest rescue you can ring.

Step 1

What have you found?

Step 2

Where are you?

Try — results put rescues that have confirmed they have space first, then the nearest. Full rescues are shown at the bottom, not hidden, so you know not to ring them.

Always phone before travelling. Capacity changes hour to hour, and this is a signpost, not a booking system. If you can't reach anyone →

If this site helped you find urgent care for an animal in need, please consider buying me a coffee — it pays for the server and the time spent keeping the listings current.

Nearby rescues

First aid

You've found an animal — what to do right now

Doing these four things in order gives the animal the best chance and saves the rescue time.

  1. Keep yourself safe first

    Never handle a deer, badger, fox, swan, bird of prey, seal or bat with bare hands — they can injure you badly, and bats and some mammals carry disease. Phone for advice instead.

  2. Contain, warm, dark, quiet

    If it's safe to lift, put the animal in a ventilated cardboard box lined with a towel, somewhere dark and quiet away from pets and children. Stress kills more casualties than injury.

  3. Do not feed it or give it water

    The wrong food, or water in the lungs, is a common cause of death in rescued wildlife. Wait for advice from the rescue.

  4. Phone before you travel

    Use the search above, then ring. Ask whether they can take this species today and whether they need you to bring it in — many rescues cannot collect.

Common questions

The nearest rescue says "full" — what do I do?
Work down the list; the next open rescue is usually the right call even if it's further. If nothing nearby is open, ring one of the national helplines shown among the results, or a local vet. Under the RCVS code, practices are expected to provide emergency first aid and pain relief to wildlife brought to them, and most do not charge for it — ring ahead to check.
A baby bird is on the ground / a fawn is alone — is it abandoned?
Usually not. Fledglings spend days on the ground while their parents still feed them, and deer leave fawns alone for hours by design. Unless the animal is visibly injured, has been caught by a cat, or is in immediate danger, watch from a distance first and phone for advice before moving it.
How current is the "open" or "full" status?
Each rescue sets it themselves from a private link. A status is treated as current for 72 hours; after that it reverts to "not confirmed" rather than pretending to be up to date. Every card shows when it was last confirmed.
I want to rehome my pet — can I use this?
Yes — choose "It's a pet, horse or farm animal" under the animal tiles. Be aware that most rehoming centres have long waiting lists and take owner surrenders by appointment only, so "open" may still mean a wait. Phone and ask. Please never abandon an animal because a centre is full.
For rescues

Keep your status current in one tap

If you run a rescue listed here, you get a private link that opens a single page with four buttons — Open, Limited, Full, Closed. No password, no account, no app. Tap one and people searching near you see it immediately.

—rescues listed
—with map locations
—reported status this week

Not listed, or your details are wrong? Email hello@findrescue.uk and we'll add or correct you. Corrections take priority over new listings.

Every rescue in the directory, plotted