THE RSPCA received more that 6,000 calls regarding concerns for wildlife in Hampshire last year, data has revealed.

It was revealed that a total of 6,596 calls were made last year concerning wildlife in the county, with a total of 999 of those calls being made in June.

The animal welfare charity is preparing for its busiest month of the year as it reveals that calls about wildlife from people in the South East of England peaked at more than 5,000 last June.

The RSPCA received more than 204,9741 calls about wildlife in 2018 across England and Wales last year; with 33,540 of those from the South East alone.

Hampshire had the second highest amount of calls in the South East, being topped by Kent with 6,789 calls made in 2018.

The RSPCA’s scientific officer Evie Button says: “May, June and July are our busiest months for wildlife, so our officers, centre staff and volunteers are flat out at this time of year.

“Caring for young animals at our wildlife centres can be a round-the-clock job. Some of the most vulnerable animals need to be hand-fed every few hours, even through the night.

“From newborn fox cubs which have lost their mother, to injured blackbirds or tiny orphaned ‘hoglets’, the RSPCA is very busy caring for and rehabilitating animals so they can hopefully be re-introduced to the wild.”

The top five species the calls were related to were pigeons at 36,629 calls, red foxes at 24,352 calls, gulls undefined at 23,467 calls, hedgehogs at 10,642 calls and deer at 9,152.

As well as the most common of Britain’s wildlife, the RSPCA was contacted last year about more unusual or rare animals including a Natterer’s bat, a natterjack toad and a hen harrier.

Nearly half of all the calls were received in the peak summer months.

RSPCA officers collected 59,428 wild animals in 2018, peaking in June and July with 9,688 and 10,388 collections respectively.

The charity are now encouraging people to help look after wildlife by putting out fresh, clean water for drinking and bathing, take care using lawn-mowers or strimmers and keeping pesticides out of reach of animals and tidy away unused sports and garden netting to prevent animals to tangled.