Blog 2: First week of Wild Pets

Hello everyone!

Wow, it has been an incredible first week for Wild Pets.

Since launching last Wednesday (07.10.26), we have been featured on the front page of The Guardian, BBC Spotlight, multiple local news outlets and across three BBC Radio stations. We are incredibly grateful for the interest in our project, and there are more exciting press opportunities in the pipeline that we look forward to sharing with you soon.

We are overwhelmed by the number of Wild Kids applications, receiving over 60 so far!

That is three times more than we expected to receive in our very first week.

We would like to say a huge thank you to every young conservationist who has taken the time to apply. We are so excited by your enthusiasm and look forward to selecting our first cohort of Wild Pets Kids in the coming weeks. There is just under six weeks left to apply (applications close 01.12.26), so if you know a young wildlife enthusiast aged 8–13 in Devon who would love to be part of Wild Pets, there is still plenty of time to get involved!

Since launching, we have received some very interesting and thoughtful enquiries since that have helped us reflect on how we can make the application process as inclusive as possible.

As part of the Wild Pets project, we have said that photography, filming and publicity will be important in sharing our journey and inspiring others to get involved in wildlife conservation. However, we recognise that some children may have legal or safeguarding circumstances, including those relating to adoption or protective arrangements, that restrict their involvement in photography or filming. To help accommodate these circumstances, we have added more space to our application form for parents and guardians to share any additional information, requirements or concerns regarding their child's participation. We want every child to have the opportunity to be considered, and your child's privacy and safety remain extremely important to us.

We have also been delighted to hear from schools and teachers that would like to take part in this project and have their class selected to look after and breed harvest mice for release.

Unfortunately, school groups won't be able to participate in the Wild Pets breeding programme at this stage. As animal welfare is our top priority, we need to ensure that every harvest mouse receives consistent care in a calm, suitable environment. The increased footfall, noise and potential disturbance associated with a busy classroom could cause unnecessary stress for the animals, making it difficult to maintain the high welfare standards we require for every participant.

Nevertheless, we are thrilled by the enthusiasm from schools and teachers and are exploring opportunities to potentially deliver presentations in schools across Devon. These visits would introduce young people to Wild Pets, explain the importance of protecting our native wildlife and inspire the next generation of conservationists. We hope to share more information about these opportunities soon.

To summarise, we are overwhelmed by the amount of support and positivity surrounding the launch of this project. From applications and social media follows to kind messages, enquiries and donations to our Crowdfunder, every contribution helps us bring this project to life.

Thank you to everyone who has supported us during this first week. We are only just getting started, and we cannot wait to share what comes next!