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Frequently Asked Questions - Large Animal Rescues and Rope Rescues

Frequently Asked Questions

Large Animal Rescues and Rope Rescues

Why is this change being introduced?

The decision to stop providing large animal rescue and rope rescue services was not one that North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority members took lightly.  There are certain categories of incidents that the fire and rescue service attends because that is what the law requires it to do, but there is no requirement for it to go to absolutely every type of emergency incident.  Large animal rescue and rope rescue services are two of these 'non-statutory' categories of incidents that the service has been able to provide in recent years, but which the Authority is now having to reconsider in the face of an extremely challenging financial situation.

There was considerable debate about the decision to withdraw from providing large animal rescue and rope rescue services, but the Authority took the view that, however regrettable, it needed to do so in order to protect the delivery of its core fire and rescue services.  Training for, equipping and attending large animal rescues and rope rescues costs the Authority in both time and money - valuable resources that can now be reallocated to help maintain core services.

Alongside the purely financial considerations, there were other factors, too, that the Authority had to consider.  For example:

.          The availability of operational crews to attend incidents that the Service is expected by law to attend;

.          The impact on the primary employers of the Service's retained firefighters who may be expected to release their staff members to undertake 'stand by duties' while a specialist large animal rescue or rope rescue response is deployed;

.          The increased risk for both the public and operational crews of making emergency blue light responses to 'non-statutory' incidents.

When does this new arrangement come into operation?

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service will implement this new arrangement from 1st April 2015.

Does the Service have a legal duty to attend Large Animal and Rope Rescues?

There is no legal duty for any Fire and Rescue Service to respond to calls which involve specialist animal or rope rescue techniques and equipment.

Why were we not consulted on this change?

North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority recently conducted a public consultation about delivering services and maintaining fire and rescue provision in North Wales, although large animal rescue and rope rescue services (both non-statutory services) were not specifically identified in the consultation document.

The Fire and Rescue Authority considered the response to the consultation and was very pleased at the level of support that the public showed for its services.  However, it still had to face the stark reality of future financial challenges and so had to scrutinise all the services that it provided with a view to generating savings to allow the Service to maintain and preserve for as long as possible the level of front line response to the statutory duties of fighting fire and rescuing people from road traffic collisions.

Having examined all the information, the Fire and Rescue Authority had to make this difficult decision to ensure that it could meet the budgetary challenges facing the Service.

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service will therefore be publicising the new arrangements through a range of different media including our website and social media sites, business groups and letters to a number of relevant stakeholders.

What if I have an animal that is trapped in a ditch/a pond/slurry etc.?  Who should I call?

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service will not be providing this sort of large animal rescue service after 1st April 2015, but there are other agencies who have been undertaking this type of rescue work for a long time.  We suggest that you direct your call to the RSPCA or your local veterinary surgeon.

What if I need to report a person who is trapped on a cliff /down a mine shaft, who do I call?

Again, North Wales Fire and Rescue Service will not be providing this sort of rope rescue service after 31st March 2015, but there are other agencies who are able to respond through either Mountain Rescue or the Coastguard for coastal cliff rescues.   We suggest you direct your call to North Wales Police who have call out arrangements with the relevant agencies.

Could this new arrangement put my large animals/pets at greater risk?

Whenever North Wales Fire and Rescue Service attend large animal rescues, a veterinary practitioner would often attend to provide advice on animal wellbeing and officers from the RSPCA would almost always attend too.   Although North Wales Fire and Rescue Service will not be attending after 31st March 2015, veterinary practitioners and the RSPCA will still be available to help reduce the risk to your animals.

To reduce the risk even more, we would encourage you to continue to consider what steps you can take to prevent your animals from getting into difficulties in the first place, by, for example, ensuring that you provide secure and well maintained enclosures and by avoiding dangerous situations.

What about my cat or dog which may need help?  Will you respond to these?

For many years now North Wales Fire and Rescue Service has been referring requests to assist small animals to the RSPCA rather than send a fire engine.  We suggest that you continue to contact the RSPCA in the first instance.

What will happen if I call 999 for help?

From 1st April 2015 we will be unable to respond to requests for assistance for large animal rescues and rope rescues because we will no longer have the specialist equipment required and we will no longer be training our firefighters to undertake this sort of work.   From that date, any such requests for assistance will be referred to other agencies.  .

If you are unsure about these new arrangements and still have a query, please e-mail

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