Cash help enrapts wildlife rescuer

Birds of prey specialist Jean Thorpe with a rescued buzzard.

The move means that the parks can cover her travel expenses while she helps rescue and rehabilitate injured birds.

Mrs Thorpe provides specialist care for injured raptors and owls.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund has also awarded Mrs Thorpe £150 for a first response kit.

This ‘first aid kit for birds’ will help her provide initial on-scene care.

The birds that come to Mrs Thorpe’s attention are from a variety of sources, including road traffic collisions, overhead wire collisions, as well as birds displaying signs of being illegally shot, trapped or poisoned.

Jean Thorpe, who was appointed an MBE in 2014, said: “It is excellent to get support from the two National Parks in North Yorkshire.

“I am very grateful. They offer some of the best habitats in the English uplands for raptors but unfortunately I do see some horrendous injuries from illegally trapped or shot birds. Some, but by no means all, make a recovery and get released back into their natural environment.”

Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority area manager Matt Neale, who works with partner organisations through Operation Owl to tackle illegal bird of prey persecution in the National Park, said: “Jean’s biggest expense is mileage, as Yorkshire is a big place, so by signing Jean up as a volunteer we can help. North York Moors National Park Authority have joined us and done the same.”