Having A Veterinary 'Wildlife Account' In Your Vet Practice...

Here's some advice on setting one up & how/why it can help your Vet Practice to treat wildlife without missing out on funds & time:

There’s quite a few Vet Practices who have designated ‘Wildlife Accounts’ on their systems, to help them to treat wildlife & fund medications & other care for the wildlife that are dropped into them, by members of the public.

[* The WCB has checked with an accountant and this is totally legal: it’s just like having a client account.]

Sometimes, the Practices also use the money in the account to help local Wildlife Rescues that they work with to offset their own costs (helping them to fund medications/diagnostic tools/operations for animals that they bring into the Practice for treatment).

We have seen these accounts be VERY successful in helping Vet Practices to not only fund the wildlife care that they provide but also build strong relationships with local Rescues that are more collaborative AND to get themselves a great reputation in the local areas as a ‘Practice who cares about all animals’.

THE WAY THESE ACCOUNTS WORK, IF YOU’RE A VET PRACTICE READING THIS & YOU WANT TO SET ONE UP:

1. Create a ‘Wildlife Account’ on your system (exactly the same as a client account).

2. You can either pop a sign up [see a pic below] by the till letting your normal clients know that - as a Vet Practice - you try your best to help wildlife in the area and inviting donations to that account, so that the local community is helping your Practice to cover the costs of looking after local wildlife.  [Eg.  When a client is paying for their own vet bill for their pet, they have an option to round up the amount to contribute a bit to the ‘Wildlife Account’ too].  OR…. You can not have a sign and - on the Admission Form that members of the public fill in when they drop off wildlife to you - let the public know that you’re open to voluntary donations, to help to treat wildlife, if they want to.

3. With the funds in the account, you can pay for all of the usual care for wildlife AND even help local Rescues cover their own costs.  (Eg.  If a Hedgehog Rescue was to come & require an X-ray for a patient, you can choose to use the money from your Wildlife Account to cover the X-ray, rather than charging the Rescue).

BENEFITS (THERE’S LOTS):

1. You’re SUPPORTED to help wildlife (instead of the Vet Practice only experiencing wildlife casualties & orphans as unpredictable drains on time & funds).

2. You build strong, collaborative relationships with local Wildlife Rescues, helping wildlife together in ways that are supported by the public too.

3. VERY IMPORTANTLY: it’s been found that Vet Practices who are open about helping wildlife with their client base, in this way, get a reputation for being very wildlife friendly Practices which actually leads to word spreading & more clients moving their own pets to the Practice, thinking of the Practice as one who has proven their love of all animals.  In short, it enables higher profitability for the Practice.

SUPPORTIVE DOCUMENTS:

• Here’s a free, instantly downloadable 'Wildlife Admission' template form, when taking in wildlife, that opens the way for voluntary donations at the bottom (this is from a Vet Practice who uses this form and has found it to be very successful).

• Here’s a free, instantly downloadable template 'Sign' to go onto/nearby your counter, letting your client base know about the ‘Wildlife Account’.

A TESTIMONIAL FROM A VET PRACTICE WITH A WILDLIFE ACCOUNT...

How Our Wildlife Account Helps Us at the Vets

“Having a Wildlife Account at our practice has made a huge difference in how we’re able to care for wildlife. It allows clients to give small donations — often just rounding up their own bills — which go directly towards treating injured or sick wild animals brought in by members of the public.

These funds help cover the costs of consultations, medications, diagnostics, and procedures, meaning we can give every wildlife patient the care they need without putting financial strain on the practice. It also allows us to support local wildlife rescues by covering some of their treatment costs when they bring animals in to us.

Thanks to the generosity of our clients, we can treat wildlife promptly and compassionately, ensuring they leave us stable and ready to move on to rehabilitation. It’s also strengthened our relationship with local rescues and helped build our reputation in the community as a practice that genuinely cares about all animals — not just pets.

We’ve found it’s a simple but incredibly rewarding system that benefits the animals, the rescues, and the practice alike.” - Becky K, RVN, Henlow Vet Group