What is it all about?

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Simply put, #Vets4Vultures is a campaign that aims to raise the plight of birds of prey, in particular vultures and WVI’s Raptor Rehabilitation Programme.

Vulture numbers have plummeted in recent years through direct and indirect persecution.

It will culminate in The Big Give’s #ChristmasChallenge17 – the country’s largest online match funding campaign. For a week starting at midday 28th November, for 7 days, WVI is looking to raise £3,000 in online donations.

These will be matched by funds donated by Virbac UK, Vetronic Services Ltd, Kirkleatham Owl Centre and The Reed Foundation (Animals and Environment). i.e. a donations between 28th November and 5th December will be DOUBLED.

The total cost of the programme in 2018 is £18,000. Raising £6,000 through #ChristmasChallenge17 will go a long way to helping us reach our goal.

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Raptor Rehabilitation Programme

In 2018 we aim to send vets and vet nurses out to India, Bulgaria and South Africa to train rehabilitators and local vets in how to treat injured birds of prey. The main injuries that are seen is trauma to the wings.

In Ahmedabad, India, wings are partially severed by the glass coated kite strings used during Uttaryan and the International Kite Festival.

In Bulgaria and South Africa it is broken wings and legs due to collisions with structures like wind turbines and pylons as well as electrocution from electricity cables.

We have focused on vultures because their numbers have dropped by 90% in some species in the past 30 years in Africa and over 90% in India in 10 years. This is due to incidental and targeted poisoning. In Ahmedabad the situation is so bad that few, if any, vultures are seen each year.

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How you can help

We need to get the word out. If every veterinary practice donated £1 we would get our #ChristmasChallenge17 target. If three of their clients donated £1, we would reach our total of £18,000.

We have produced an online promotion pack that is full of:

• Posts to cut and paste on to Facebook
• Tweets to cut and paste on to Twitter
• 10 cool facts about vultures to put on your website/social media. Including how important they are in the ecosystem and that they can’t sing (despite what Disney thinks!)
• Fantastic graphics to cut and paste

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Or, please like and share our social media posts to help us reach more potential donors – https://www.facebook.com/WildlifeVetsInternational/ and https://twitter.com/WildlifeVetsInt

Please consider fundraising or donating during the week of the Big Give.  Donate here to DOUBLE YOUR DONATION between 12.00 28th November and 12.00 5th December http://bit.ly/2yurJ5H.to

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“So you can see we’re friends in need.

And friends in need, are friends indeed.

We’ll keep you safe, in the jungle forevermore……

That’s what friends are for!” (The Jungle Book 1967)

(#GivingTuesday is after #BlackFriday and #CyberMonday, on 28th November. it is also a #CharityTuesday!)

Thank you to our match funders:

Kirleatheam Owl Centre, The Reed Foundation (Animals and Environment)

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