Policies

Use the tabs below to view our various policies. These were last updated on the 17th July 2025 to include new features added to the directory.

Terms of Use

By using helpwildlife.co.uk and directory.helpwildlife.co.uk (‘the site’) you agree to be bound by these terms. The Starlight Trust, operating as helpwildlife.co.uk (‘HelpWildlife’, ‘our’, ‘we’) reserves the right to amend these terms from time to time by publishing revised terms on this page. Such revised terms shall apply in replacement of these from the moment that they become available to view on the site. It is the responsibility of the user to keep up-to date with all such changes and your continued use of the site shall be deemed acceptance of any changes to these terms and conditions.

The information published on the site is provided for free and voluntarily on an ‘as is’ basis. All use of the site will remain free in perpetuity and we will never charge rescuers to be listed on, or visitors to use the site.

Use of the Site

You undertake to use the site in fair, lawful and reasonable ways and not to use it for any malicious, illegal, or anti-social purposes, or in any way which causes or promotes harm to wildlife or to the parties listed.

You acknowledge and agree that the site is proprietary to HelpWildlife and comprises works of original authorship, including compiled information containing our arrangement, coordination and expression of such information. The information is provided for reasonable personal use and, whilst sharing with credit to educate and raise awareness is encouraged, site contents may not be collated, sold, published, transferred, or copied without permission. You may not integrate the directory or information on the site into another website or service. Any attempt to extract or download significant amounts of information from the site or to compile a database or directory from information obtained from the site is strictly forbidden.

User Accounts

Users may register an account on the site in order to submit or claim ownership of a directory listing. Registered users can sign up to get involved in developing the site and to receive information about surveys, studies etc relevant to wildlife rehabilitation. Membership of the site does not count as membership for legal purposes, therefore members do not have any voting rights, legal obligations, or liability. User accounts may be removed without notice where we have reason to believe the site terms of use have been breached.

User Content

User content refers to information submitted through the various forms on the site including, but not limited to, forms to add directory listings, provide feedback on directory listings, and seek advice via our helpdesk. In submitting information to us you agree that

  • you have read and agree to our privacy notice.
  • the information you submit is true and accurate.
  • your communications with us will be constructive, honest and respectful.
  • we may share anonymised details of feedback, complaints, and help requests received in order to publicise and be transparent about our work, and to provide education on issues affecting UK wildlife and wildlife rescuers.

When submitting information to our directory, you further agree that

  • you will not submit the information of a rescue/r, or claim ownership of a listing if you are not an authorised representative of the listed rescue/r.
  • you have the necessary rights to submit the content, and it does not breach copyright or data protection laws.
  • HelpWildlife shall have a free of charge license to publish and process that content in accordance with these terms.
  • you may not imply that your inclusion in the directory constitutes an affiliation or endorsement.
  • we may make changes to rescue information submitted in order to best suit the purposes of the directory. This may include, for example, amending spelling or grammatical errors, or removing content which is not relevant to the purposes of the directory.
  • we may retain any information about rescuers which does not constitute personal data indefinitely in order to facilitate the administration of our list and collate general information about wildlife rescue in the UK.
  • we may move or remove content without notice where we have reason to believe these terms have been breached or where it may be necessary to protect wildlife, or to best suit the purposes of the directory.

Inclusion in Our Directory

The wildlife rescue directory published at directory.helpwildlife.co.uk (‘the directory’) is provided for information purposes to assist in the location of individuals and organisations providing a service in rescuing and caring for UK wildlife (‘rescue(r)s’). Whilst we are passionately committed to proving an accurate directory of information about UK wildlife rescue(r)s and we will use our reasonable endeavours to ensure the accuracy of the information we publish, we can make no guarantees in this regard. Your use of the site is at your sole risk and we exclude all liability of any kind in respect of any information made available on, or which can be accessed via, the site. Links on the site are provided for your convenience to provide further information. They do not signify endorsement of the website(s) or the organisations to which they belong.

Rescuer capacity will vary depending on demand and resource and, as such, we make no guarantee that a rescuer listed in the directory will be available, able, or willing to assist with any particular incident. We are not able, and make no claim to, check the policies, practices, abilities, training, licenses, or conduct (‘suitability’) of any of the listed rescuers and accept no responsibility for doing so. HelpWildlife exclude all liability and responsibility for the conduct and behaviours of the rescuers included in the directory, and inclusion should not be construed as an endorsement. It shall be the responsibility of the site user to ensure that any services or information available through this website meets their specific requirements.

You acknowledge that HelpWildlife is not a governing body or authority and is not able to alter the practices or behaviours of the rescuers included in the directory. If a user has concerns about the conduct of any listed rescue(r)s, these should be raised with the relevant authority i.e., the Police, R/SSPCA, HMRC, or the Charity Commission. Users can advise HelpWildlife that a concern has been raised by completing the form at helpwildlife.co.uk/complaints. We will use these submissions to make an objective, evidence-based decision regarding the future inclusion of that rescuer in the directory. These decisions and the evidence provided are confidential and will not be discussed or disclosed externally.

Rescue(r)s are removed from the directory search results if and when they are no longer able to assist with sick or injured wildlife, or if we are unable to verify their information. Some details are retained in our archive pages about closed rescues for information purposes. Our aim is to have a complete list of wildlife rescue(r)s in the UK so we will not usually remove listings relating to active rescues. We may, however, move a listing to the private section of the directory where requested by the rescue/r or where we have reason to believe that inclusion in the public directory would be detrimental to UK wildlife, wildlife rescue(r)s, or the purposes of the directory.

Directory Administration

HelpWildlife welcomes feedback and suggestions from site users but ultimately reserves the right to administer the directory in the way which we believe, through our experience, best suits the needs of UK wildlife and wildlife rescue(r)s. Directory features and policies covered by these rights include, but are not limited to

Directory Sections (previously 'tiers)

The directory is organised into sections for 'rescues', 'small rescues', 'reserves', 'national organisations', and 'vets'. Listings in the 'reserves' and 'vets' sections of the directory are visible only to our volunteers. Their details will be shared with finders, at our discretion, to facilitate helping a wild animal when help is not available from the other sections of the directory. Criteria for inclusion in each section can be found on our add listing page. The purpose of this feature is to focus contacts resulting from the directory on larger, more established rescues first to maximise the chances of the user finding assistance and avoid overwhelming smaller and less experienced rescue(r)s. Decisions about which section a listing should be hosted in will usually be made based entirely on those criteria but we reserve the right to make individual exceptions in order to best suit the needs of the directory. This may include, for example, moving a listing to a more visible section if there is limited coverage in their location, or moving a listing a less visible section if feedback suggests they are frequently full or difficult to contact. We may also move a listing to the private section of the directory where we have reason to believe that inclusion in the public directory would be detrimental to UK wildlife, wildlife rescue(r)s, or the purposes of the directory.

Listing Status

Directory listings may have the following statuses for the following reasons.

  • Pending review - listings will have this status immediately after submission while our volunteers undertake checks and make a decision about suitability for inclusion.
  • Published - approved listings which we understand are currently able to help with sick and injured wildlife will have this status.
  • Expired - we will use this status for listings where we have not been able to confirm contact information or operational status, or those which have been or will be temporarily closed for a year or more. Listings with this status remain live on the site but do not appear in search results.
  • Closed down - this status is applied to listings where the rescue/r has ceased all operations or is no longer able to help with wild animals. Listings with this status are removed from search results and all contact information is removed from display.
  • Archived - when a listing has been Expired or Closed Down for five years it will be archived. The listing is removed from the directory and basic details such as name, location, and closure information are displayed on our archive page for reference purposes.

Listing Packages

Each section of the directory provides a choice of two packages a listing can be assigned to.

  • Claimed Listing. These packages are for listings which are managed by the rescue/r. Listings on these packages benefit from extra fields allowing the inclusion of additional phone numbers, a logo, and a donation link. These listings also display a banner showing that the information is 'owner verified'. Listings on these packages are eligible for donations from our £1 for Wildlife campaign, subject to meeting other criteria.
  • Unclaimed Listing. These packages are for listings which were either added by HelpWildlife or which were previously added or claimed by the rescue/r but not maintained. Listings from the 'Claimed Listing' packages will 'downgrade' to these packages if not renewed by their expiry date. Any information added to the extra fields included in the 'Claimed Listing' package will not be visible on the listing, the 'owner verified' banner will not be shown, and the rescue/r will not be eligible for donations from our £1 for Wildlife Campaign. The rescue/r can 'upgrade' the listing at any time by claiming ownership of it (if not already done so) and selecting the 'Claimed Listing' package. This will restore the hidden extra information and banner, and reinstate eligibility for donations from our £1 for Wildlife campaign.

The purpose of these packages is to encourage rescues to claim and maintain their listing so as to best ensure the accuracy of the information published, as well as to indicate to site users which listings have been verified by the rescue/r, providing reassurance as to the accuracy of the information.

Listing Feedback Facility

Each listing includes a form seeking feedback from site visitors on their experience with contacting the rescue/r listed. This is not intended to gather subjective 'reviews' but to collect user input on the accuracy of the information listed, whether the rescue was able to help, and whether it was straightforward to contact them using the information listed. We use this feedback to identify potential issues with listing details or suitability for inclusion in their current section of the directory. Submissions made to the feedback form are expected to comply with the terms related to 'User Content'. We reserve the right to edit, delete, or remove from publication any submissions which are not in keeping with the purposes of the facility, including, but not limited to, those which appear to be malicious or disingenuous, or which are duplicated.

Multiple Listings

We will include multiple listings for the same organisation in the directory subject to the following conditions

  • The listings are based and listed at least 7.5 miles apart OR
  • The individual 'branches' cater to different species
  • The listing title should include the rescue name and the secondary listing's distinction from the main e.g. Surrey Hedgehog Rescue - Woking Branch, or Shropshire Wildlife Rescue (Foxes)
  • The rescue maintains the listings so that additional burden is not placed upon HelpWildlife volunteers. If the listings are not maintained by the rescue, we reserve the right to consolidate them.
  • Where multiple listings are included for the same organisation, only the first listing will be eligible for donations from our £1 for Wildlife campaign.

Duplicated Names

We will not knowingly include multiple listings with the same name in the directory in order to avoid confusion. Multiple listings for the same organisation should be distinguished by location or species as per the terms for 'multiple listings' above. If two separate organisations have the same name, they can be included with a differentiating term such as location e.g. Swan Rescue (Norfolk) and Swan Rescue (Suffolk). HelpWildlife accepts no jurisdiction over or involvement in disputes regarding name ownership and entitlement - these must be settled between the rescue(r)s concerned. Our priority will always be providing information to ensure sick and injured wild animals find the help they need.

Linked Listings

This feature allows a visitor to view the listing of a national organisation and see their regional representations. Currently, only listings in the 'rescues' section can be linked to a national listing. Links can only be created by our admin volunteers but rescue listing owners can ask to be linked to a national listing by emailing [email protected].

£1 for Wildlife

Through our £1 for Wildlife campaign we seek to raise funds for UK wildlife rescue(r)s. Site visitors are invited to donate £1 (or more) either as a single or recurring donation, and to complete a Gift Aid declaration, enabling us to reclaim the tax on their donation and include this in the donations we make to rescue(r)s.

Each month a donation is made to an eligible rescue/r from our directory chosen at random. In order to be eligible, a rescue(r)’s listing must

  • be in a public section of the directory
  • be claimed and actively maintained by a rescue representative
  • not have already received a donation. Once all eligible rescues have been supported, the list will be reset.

Excess funds from both the £1 for Wildlife campaign and our own donation page will also be passed to listed rescue(r)s on an adhoc basis. Details of donations made are available on request via [email protected]

Helpwildlife.co.uk, as part of the Starlight Trust, is committed to maintaining the trust and confidence of our partners, supporters, and visitors to our website. We will only ever collect information about you as necessary to carry out our day-to-day operations and meet our objectives. We certainly won’t be plaguing you with donation requests or selling your info to marketers. This privacy notice tells you what to expect us to do with your personal information but if you have any questions not answered here, please email [email protected]

What information we collect, use, and why

We collect or use the following information to provide services, namely, to produce and maintain a directory of UK wildlife rescuers to assist members of the public who find sick and injured wildlife, and to provide advice and support through our email helpdesk.

  • Names and contact details
  • Addresses
  • Photographs or video recordings
  • Service use history
  • Website user information (including user journeys and cookie tracking)
  • Information relating to compliments or complaints

We collect or use the following information to receive donations or funding

  • Names and contact details
  • Addresses
  • Payment or banking details
  • Donation history
  • Taxpayer information (for Gift Aid purposes)

We collect or use the following personal information for dealing with queries and feedback

  • Names and contact details
  • Correspondence
  • Photographs or video recordings
  • Service use history
  • Website user information (including user journeys and cookie tracking)
  • Information relating to compliments or complaints

We do not collect any special category information.

HelpWildlife takes steps to protect your information, but it should be noted that no electronic submission of information can be entirely secure.

Lawful bases and data protection rights

Under UK data protection law, we must have a “lawful basis” for collecting and using your personal information. There is a list of possible lawful bases in the UK GDPR. You can find out more about lawful bases on the ICO’s website.

Which lawful basis we rely on may affect your data protection rights which are set out in brief below. You can find out more about your data protection rights and the exemptions which may apply on the ICO’s website:

If you make a request, we must respond to you without undue delay and in any event within one month. To make a data protection rights request, please contact us via [email protected]

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to provide services are:

  • Consent – we have permission from you after we gave you all the relevant information. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to object. To be clear, you do have the right to withdraw your consent at any time.
  • Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are to benefit the public and UK wildlife in providing information and advice to those who find sick and injured wildlife.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information to receive donations or funding are:

  • Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are to be able to keep accurate accounts and to claim Gift Aid where possible.

Our lawful bases for collecting or using personal information for dealing with queries and feedback are:

  • Legitimate interests – we’re collecting or using your information because it benefits you, our organisation or someone else, without causing an undue risk of harm to anyone. All of your data protection rights may apply, except the right to portability. Our legitimate interests are in order to respond to the enquirer and to provide advice which is bespoke to their circumstances and location.

For more information on our use of legitimate interests and consent as a lawful basis you can contact us on [email protected]

Where we get personal information from

  • Directly from you (through the forms and logs on our website)
  • Publicly available sources (e.g. rescue websites and social media pages)

How long we keep information

  • Information such as addresses, contact details, photographs and videos, taxpayer information and payment and banking details will be deleted or anonymised 5 years after last use (e.g. when a rescue has been closed for 5 years, or 5 years after the most recent donation).
  • Some details such as rescue names, approximate locations, service use history, website user information, and the substance of queries and feedback may be retained indefinitely for statistical and research purposes.

Who we share information with

  • Information about UK wildlife rescuers and anonymised versions of enquiries, help requests and feedback, are shared publicly on our website, social media or other information media
  • Information about donors, site visitors, service users, and enquirers is not shared outside of our organisation unless with specific consent

On rare occasions, some information may be visible to contractors, service providers and other third parties we use to support our work and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential. We reserve the right to disclose information if required to do so by law or to protect the safety of you or our volunteers. We may disclose aggregated information about our users and information that does not identify any individual without restriction. We do not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer your personal information to outside parties.

How to complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your personal data, you can make a complaint to us via the ‘Complaints Policy’ tab on this page.

If you remain unhappy with how we’ve used your data after raising a complaint with us, you can also complain to the ICO.

The ICO’s address:           

Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Helpline number: 0303 123 1113

Website: https://www.ico.org.uk/make-a-complaint

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Complaints About HelpWildlife.co.uk

HelpWildlife is run by volunteers who are passionate about the welfare of UK wildlife and those who care for them. We sincerely hope that any need for complaint is extremely rare. Where a complaint about our work is received the following policy applies

  • Complaints will initially be considered by our CEO.
  • Anyone who makes a complaint about our operations shall be treated with courtesy and respect.
  • In return, we expect courtesy and respect from the complainant when corresponding with our volunteers. Abuse and harassment will not be tolerated and we reserve the right to withdraw or modify our complaints procedure to protect our volunteers from unacceptable behaviour.
  • We aim to provide a full, open, and honest response to the complainant by email within 14 days.
  • If the complainant is unsatisfied with the initial response, they can appeal and the complaint and response will be reviewed by our other trustees.
  • Anonymised details of complaints and responses will be shared on our complaints page in the interests of transparency.

Complaints About Listed Rescues

HelpWildlife is independent of the organisations listed in our directory, is not a governing body or authority, and is not able to alter the practices or behaviours of the listed rescuers. If a site visitor has concerns about the practices of any listed rescue(r)s, they should initially raise these with the rescue themselves. If concerns persist they must be raised with the relevant authority i.e., the Police, R/SSPCA, HMRC, or the Charity Commission. Visitors can share details of these reports with HelpWildlife and we will use these submissions to make an objective, evidence-based decision regarding the future inclusion of that rescue(r) in the directory. Where we receive a complaint about a listed rescue we will

  • Only consider complaints which have already been raised with the rescue concerned and the relevant authority.
  • Consider only those aspects which relate to the treatment or care of UK wildlife, or to advice given to members of the public about UK wildlife, including publicly e.g. on a website or social media page.
  • Review the information submitted in the context of any other feedback we have received about the listed rescue(r).
  • Contact the R/SSPCA where appropriate for their input.
  • Keep details of complainants, their views, any evidence submitted, and the decisions we make private and confidential. Our position, on the advice of the Information Commissioners Office, is that complaints constitute the personal data of the complainant and are therefore excluded from Subject Access Requests. 

To make a complaint please visit helpwildlife.co.uk/complaints. To provide feedback or comment rather than complain, please visit helpwildlife.co.uk/feedback.