New tool could aid poisoned wildlife, charity says

Wild animals exposed to rat poison could be treated faster and more accurately under plans by a wildlife charity to buy new testing equipment.

The Wildlife Aid Foundation says it is close to raising the £10,500 needed to buy two machines after a fundraising appeal attracted almost £10,000 in 48 hours.

The Leatherhead-based charity says the equipment will provide quicker diagnostic results, helping vets make decisions about treatment while animals are still on the operating table.

Lou Cowell, the charity's managing director, said: "The response to this appeal has been extraordinary."

She added: "Wild animals can't tell us what they have eaten, how they are feeling or what has happened to them.

"Being able to get this information within minutes will give our veterinary team another incredibly valuable tool when making decisions about their care."

The charity rehabilitates injured wild animals including hedgehogs and foxes before releasing them back into the wild where possible.

It launched an appeal to raise £10,500 for two pieces of equipment and had secured almost £10,000 in donations within 48 hours.

One of the machines can use a small blood sample to help determine whether an animal has been exposed to rat poison within five minutes, Cowell said.

The machine, which measures how quickly an animal's body clots, will replace current the manual method which "takes valuable time and doesn't give us the same precise measurement", the charity said.

The second machine, called a critical care analyser, would also help to speed up blood analysis for animals.

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