Nottinghamshire in top 10 places in UK for RSPCA volunteers

To mark National Volunteers’ Week (June 1-7), the animal welfare charity has revealed details about its volunteers – with Nottinghamshire coming in 10th in the top 10 places for volunteers.

The RSPCA has also seen a surge in new volunteers since the Covid-19 pandemic started.

In Nottinghamshire, the charity has 126 volunteers – with London coming in top with 456.

During the last 12 months in particular, there has been an 85 per cent increase in volunteers with the charity currently having more than 16,000 animal lovers donating their time for free to help animals in need.

RSPCA volunteers have continued to be involved in essential animal welfare work during the pandemic and proven to be a lifeline for the charity.

However, the increase in new volunteers can also be attributed to the launch of the RSPCA’s microvolunteering programme.

There are 4,800 people taking part in total and this has seen a younger volunteer base than ever before with 66 per cent of volunteers under 35, and 34 per cent under 25 years old.

John Wilkins, head of volunteering at the RSPCA, said: “As more people have been spending time at home and were either furloughed or out of work, we have found that lots of people were trying their hand at microvolunteering for the RSPCA.

“This appeals to people who don’t have much time, or find it difficult to physically volunteer at a centre or similar. It’s a modern approach which creates an opportunity for people to donate their time to complete quick digital tasks such as sharing animal welfare messages on social media, undertaking research and helping to promote fundraising events.”

The youngest animal care volunteer is 17, while the oldest is 101.

Many have continued to volunteer during the pandemic to help ensure animals have received the care they need.

More than 100 wildlife casualty volunteers collect sick and injured wildlife in their community and transport them to nearby wildlife centres and vets.

In the last 12 months, 550 wild animals and birds have been collected by volunteers.

More than 300 volunteers also foster domestic animals and equines, providing them with safe, caring environments while waiting to be adopted or the RSPCA investigates a cruelty case.

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