Vandals in Broughty Ferry could be threatening the future of Tayside’s only dedicated volunteer wildlife rescue service.
The survival of Shanwell Wildlife Rescue Trust could depend on it taking over larger premises beside the former putting green. However, since the idea was first mooted the former tennis and putting pavilion which would provide the hub of the charity’s new centre has been targeted by vandals so often that it now requires extensive repairs to make it wind and water tight.
Founder Gareth Norman explained that the charity, which runs a fully equipped wildlife rescue ambulance, is based at Broughty Castle barracks but its premises there are so restricted that it can only operate as an animal A&E.
As a result, Shanwell contacted Dundee City Council last year with a view to leasing the disused building and land beside the tennis courts on the Esplanade and the local authority embarked on a consultation process. However, the building has proved a target for vandals in the meantime.
“It has taken so long to do the consultation that in the interim the building has been vandalised, which we feel might not have happened if the council had moved a bit more swiftly, and it’s left us kind of in a limbo,” said Gareth.
“Youths have been hanging around there, particularly at weekends, and they have removed all the roofing felt and on one occasion forced entry by kicking the door in. We are now at the situation where the council has had to get the building inspection people along and they are saying that there’s substantial repairs needing done and now they have to identify where the funding will come from.
“We’re obviously keen to get in and have asked the council just to make it wind and water tight and we will take care of the rest. We have also contacted them asking for the full report to see if there are any little jobs we could do ourselves.”
Any further delays could be disastrous for the charity, Gareth said. Shanwell which recently led the memorable rescue and release of a dolphin in the Tay relies on donations and, like all charities, finding enough cash is an uphill struggle in the current climate, particularly with rising fuel prices and vet bills to pay.
“We run from this £50 to the next £50 and funding has been really difficult over the last couple of years,” said Gareth. “I think it would help if the public could actually see a physical building because we are struggling and this is kind of a last-ditch effort.
“The move would also allow us to do a lot of community education, particularly related to marine mammals, and to work with other groups like the Barnhill Rock Garden and the countryside rangers, and we are hoping to use renewable solar and wind energy.”
After providing an emergency response and treatment, Shanwell has to transfer injured creatures to centres in Ayrshire or Dunfermline for rehabilitation, so volunteers rarely have the chance to complete the “cycle of care” and experience “the joy of releasing them back into the wild.”
Shanwell volunteers have also been forced to put down animals and birds which could potentially be saved as the lengthy trip would cause them too much distress.
Understandably, one of the charity’s first tasks when it takes over will be to make the site secure, but it also plans to install open-air aviaries and, possibly, ponds in the former children’s trampolines.
“We have great plans but we have to take it one step at a time and the first step is to get the building,” Gareth added.
A spokesman for Dundee City Council said, “Consultation on the move was received positively in Broughty Ferry but there are still a number of issues with the building that need to be addressed before any lease can be agreed.”For more information on the work of the Shanwell Wildlife Rescue Trust and to give your support, visit swrt.btck.co.uk