Brent Lodge Emergency Telephone Number (open between 9am & 5pm)

(01243) 641672

Emergency Advice

If you have an emergency or urgent enquiry, please contact us for advice by telephone on (01243)641672 between 9am and 5pm.

Out-of-hours emergency

If a genuine emergency situation occurs out of hours (after 5pm) which would require immediate medical treatment, AlphaPet runs an out-of-hours emergency service which be accessed by telephoning the surgery number, (01243)842832. You will then be given a mobile number for the duty veterinary surgeon to whom you may speak directly for assistance. Please note that this service is for genuine emergencies only. Please DO NOT use the out-of-hours service for anything other than emergency advice for a situation that is likely to require immediate medical treatment.

If you find injured wildlife

If you are local and have found an injured bird or mammal that appears to require veterinary treatment, please take the patient to either AlphaPet's animal hospital in West Meads (near Aldwick, between Bognor Regis and Pagham), or to Brent Lodge, depending upon which is closer.

Brent Lodge

You may bring patients directly to Brent Lodge between 9am and 5pm.

Brent Lodge's address is: Cow Lane, Sidlesham, Chichester, West Sussex, England. PO20 7LN.

Click here for a map of where to find Brent Lodge.

Brent Lodge's telephone number is: (01243)641672.

AlphaPet

West Meads surgery is open 8:30am to 7:00pm from Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 6:00pm on Saturday and 10:00am to 1:00pm on Sunday.

AlphaPet's address is: 11-17 The Precinct, West Meads, Bognor Regis, PO21 5SB.

Click here for a map of where to find AlphaPet's West Meads Hospital.

AlphaPet's telephone number is: (01243)842832.

Please note that only injured birds and mammals should be taken to AlphaPet. Any creatures that are obviously just orphaned or abandoned, rather than sick or injured, should be brought directly to Brent Lodge.

If in doubt, please call Brent Lodge for advice on (01243)641672.

Baby Birds & Pigeons

• If you've found a baby bird, then prior to doing anything else (preferably before picking it up) please read the page on our web site about finding baby birds.
• If you have found a racing pigeon (with bands on its legs), then visit the Royal Pigeon Racing Association website for some useful information. If you're still unsure about the best course of action, contact Brent Lodge or your nearest wildlife hospital/rescue centre for advice.

General First Aid

If you find an injured or sick bird or mammal, you can save its life by placing it into a closed cardboard box with torn-up newspaper. All wildlife has an instinctive fear of people, so putting an injured wild bird or mammal into a cage with nowhere for it to hide will rapidly put it into a state of shock, which can prove fatal. Being placed in a warm, dark, quiet environment will minimise shock. Then contact Brent Lodge, or your nearest local bird and wildlife hosptial.

Oiled Birds

If you find an oiled bird, follow the first aid advice above and contact Brent Lodge (or your nearest local bird and wildlife hosptial) immediately. Do not try to wash the bird yourself as it could do more harm than good. Cleaning oiled birds is a specialised procedure.

Birds That Have Flown Into A Window

A bird that has flown into a window may simply be stunned. Follow the first aid advice above, and leave the bird well alone in the box for about three hours (or overnight if you found it late evening). Then try to release the bird: If it flies away then no further treatment is necessary! If not, place it back in the box and contact Brent Lodge (or your nearest local bird and wildlife hosptial).

Personal Safety

Contact by email

Please do not email us for urgent help! Although we do read all emails, they are not continuously monitored, so it could be several days before we see them.

If you need advice it is better to telephone us or another wildlife rehabilitation organisation near to where you live.

I'm in the UK, but not local to Brent Lodge

You can find a wildlife hospital nearer to you by having a look at some of the links on our links page.

The British Wildlife Helpline lists the contact details of wildlife rescue centres all over the UK. To find details of your nearest listed centre, click here.

You can find some useful wildlife emergency first aid advice on the St.Tiggywinkles web site. St. Tiggywinkles also operates a telephone helpline, and they maintain a very comprehensive list of rehabilitators across the UK. Their phone number is 01844 292 292.

International information (non-UK)

USA

If you are in the USA, you should contact a local rehabilitator rather than Brent Lodge.

There is a good directory of rehabbers, listed by US state here.

There is also a useful site about how to look after US species of baby birds and small mammals here.

GLOBAL

Although it is intended primarily for the USA, there is a good international list of rehabilitators here.