The British Wildlife Centre was started in 1997 by David Mills. Before then, David had a successful herd of pedigree Jersey dairy cows on the site of what is now the wildlife centre. Since 1971 the rich milk and cream of the Venn herd of Jerseys was supplied to many local homes and businesses.
In 1994 David ceased farming in order to realise a second dream of setting up a centre to educate people about our native wildlife. At first we were only open to pre-booked groups, but in 2000 we were able to open to the public.
We have been growing slowly but steadily since, enhancing the Centre to give visitors more to see and more to learn about Britain’s fascinating wildlife. Our objective remains the same - to help people learn more about our native wildlife in the hope that they too will want to protect it for future generations to enjoy.
We are a not-for-profit organisation, so you can be sure that all revenue is ploughed back into improving the accommodation for animals, on breeding programmes or on habitat conservation. We are currently investing a lot in our new nature reserve (more details on the Conservation pages).
We are sometimes asked why we are not open more often. It's not just the unpredictable winter weather (in fact most of our animals are just as fascinating to observe at this time of year). It's simply that during term times we accommodate school visits from a wide surrounding area. We feel it is very important that children have the opportunity to see and learn more about British wildlife, so that they may develop a life-long interest in its protection and survival.
