Dick Vet Rabbit and Exotic Practice

Wildlife

Our state-of-the-art hospital houses a dedicated wildlife ward.

Vet examining a seal

We provide veterinary care to wildlife found by members of the public, as well as those rescued by other organisations, for example the Scottish Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Animals  (SSPCA) and the British  Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR).

Our wildlife ward has a range of facilities including incubators for young mammals and birds, and large isolation enclosures for deer, foxes, badgers and otters.

We have also specially designed pens with pools for injured wildfowl and a larger outdoor pool for seals and swans.

The species of wildlife we see is very varied, with a wide variety of fledglings, pigeons, swans, foxes and deer being our most common patients. 

All wildlife handed in to us by members of the public are treated free of charge.  This represents a considerable cost to us in terms of materials used, veterinary time, hospitalisation of injured animals and the specialist feeding requirements for wild animals.  

Vet examining a deer

The Wildlife Clinic was initially started by one of our vets, Emma Keeble, many years ago with help from numerous fundraising activities by our student group, The Edinburgh Veterinary Zoological Society.  We now rely on fundraising to help us treat our wildlife patients, and donations are always gratefully received.

If you would like information on how to help raise funds please get in touch.

REP-swans
Left - A swan being x-rayed to check for the presence of a fishing hook. Right- A young Mute Swan exercising in our Wildlife Ward Pond