welcome to wadars animal rescue

About Wadars Animal Rescue Charity

Based in Ferring, Worthing, Wadars is a leading animal welfare charity and has been rescuing wildlife and rehoming companion animals since 1969.

We believe that animals enrich our lives: we also know that they cannot speak for themselves and need protection. Last year Wadars rescued more than 1,200 injured, orphaned and at risk birds and wildlife, and rehomed over 200 cats, dogs and other companion animals.

Through our dedicated Animal Welfare Team, we respond to calls from members of the public who are concerned about animals in distress or danger. During the summer months we receive up to 50 calls a day to our wildlife helpline for advice, or asking us to rescue injured and orphaned birds and other wildlife. We also run a lost and found pet register, and at any one time have dozens of dogs, cats and other pets in our care, looking for new homes.

We work closely with local vets and wildlife rehabilitation centres in order to ensure the best outcomes for sick, orphaned, and injured animals.

Historically, as we had no rehoming centre of our own, Wadars animals were cared for in commercial kennels and catteries, or with our team of volunteer fosterers until suitable forever homes could be found for them. With the development of our rehoming centre at our Ferring site we now care for our cats and small animals here, and our plans for the future include developing our own kennels as well as a large wildlife unit.

Wadars is a registered charity and we rely almost entirely on donations, legacies and fundraising from our local community to make our work possible.

Over 90p in every £1 we receive is spent directly on charitable activities

Some facts and figures about Wadars

  • Wadars Animal Rescue (formerly the Worthing & District Animal Rescue Service) was established in 1969 and is a registered charity
  • Our objectives are the rescue of sick and injured wildlife & the rescue and rehoming of companion animals
  • In 2023 Wadars was asked to rehome almost 1,000 companion animals, many of those because their owners could no longer afford to keep them. In the same year our mobile Animal Rescue Service was called out to more than 1,200 wildlife rescues
  • It costs more than £1,500 a day to run our services
  • Rehoming – on average it costs around £850 to home each dog and £500 each cat. This includes an average 30 days of kennelling, neutering, vaccinations, microchipping, worming, flea treatment and vet check as well as providing them with a warm, safe place to stay
  • Small animals such as rabbits often take more than six months to rehome and cost in the region of £500 to care for 
  • More than 90p in every £1 we receive is spent directly on our charitable activities
  • Wadars only exists because of legacies and public donations

Read our latest newsletters here