Animal & Wildlife Search and Rescue in Newbury

Swipe for all six services →

• Livestock Search and Recovery

  We sweep fields, hedgerows and woodland with thermal and visual cameras to find missing cattle, sheep, horses, pigs or poultry, with or without tags or trackers.

  Newbury is surrounded by farms and equestrian yards, with cattle, sheep and many horses kept on farmland and downs where loose animals can travel a long way.

  You know where the stock is before you send people and vehicles out.

  You and your stockmen do the rounding up; we watch and guide from above.

• Pet and Companion Animal Search

  Lost dogs, cats and other companion animals often go to ground in cover a search on foot walks straight past. Thermal imaging can pick up body heat in vegetation and in low light.

  Dogs that run off at Snelsmore, Greenham or along the canal usually hide in heather, gorse or riverside cover not far from where they bolted.

  A focused search around the last sighting, with positions relayed so you can approach calmly.

  Built-up areas and roads bring airspace and privacy limits, so each request is assessed first.

• Zoo and Collection Animal Location

  Discreet aerial support for wildlife parks, zoos, aviaries and private collections looking for a displaced non-dangerous animal.

  Eyes over the site and its surroundings, working to your keepers’ recovery plan.

  We do not deploy for dangerous species; those are a matter for the emergency services.

• Wildlife and Conservation Monitoring

  Planned aerial monitoring of protected or vulnerable species across large areas: survey routes, thermal counts and habitat imagery.

  Planned surveys on the commons and along the rivers are shaped around protected habitat, breeding birds and the organisations that manage them.

  Repeatable data delivered to your team, without walking the whole site.

  Planned around the species, the season and any disturbance considerations.

• Injured or Distressed Animal Location

  Where an animal is thought to be injured and lying still, thermal detection can find it in dense cover, on steep ground or in places rescuers cannot easily reach.

  Useful for a casualty in reed or wet woodland, on open heath or in the middle of a large field where nobody can easily see it.

  Precise GPS positions, so rescuers go straight to the animal.

  We locate and observe. Handling and treatment stay with vets and welfare professionals.

• Priority Call-Outs

  When time matters, phone us with the location and what has happened. Each call-out is assessed against location, airspace, weather, light and who is available.

  A clear answer on the phone about whether a search is possible, and what it involves.

  We do not publish response times; availability depends on the day.

1. STAGE 01

   Enquiry and information

   You tell us what is missing, where and when it was last seen, and what the ground is like.

2. STAGE 02

   Location and feasibility

   We check the location against our zones and look at airspace, access, weather and light.

3. STAGE 03

   Search plan

   We divide the area into search zones from the last known position, the terrain and the animal’s likely behaviour.

4. STAGE 04

   Aerial search

   Our pilot watches the thermal and visual feeds live and checks every heat signature against the animal’s size.

5. STAGE 05

   Findings and handover

   We relay GPS positions to your team and stay on station until recovery or until you stand us down.

The ground we search around Newbury

• Snelsmore and Greenham heaths

  Snelsmore Common to the north and Greenham Common to the south-east are both large areas of open heath with birch, gorse and scattered woodland. Open heath is one of the best places for a thermal search, especially in the cool of early morning or after dark.

  LimitationBoth commons hold ground-nesting birds such as nightjar and woodlark. In the breeding season we plan flights carefully and keep disturbance to a minimum.

• The Kennet, the Lambourn and the canal

  The two rivers and the canal bring water meadows, reed, willow carr and towpaths right through and around the town. Soft ground and thick vegetation make this hard country to search on foot.

  LimitationThe rivers are protected chalk streams. We keep flights short, avoid hovering low over the water and check anything near it on the visual camera first.

• Woods and downland

  Woods around Donnington, Boxford, Hamstead Marshall and Burghclere break up the farmland, and the downs rise to the south towards Highclere. An animal on the move tends to keep to cover along the field edges.

  LimitationUnder a closed canopy the drone cannot see the ground, so here it guides a search on foot rather than replacing one.

• The town, the A34 and the M4

  Newbury is a sizeable town with the A34 to the west, the A339 to the east, the M4 to the north and the railway through the middle. Animals that escape from home usually head for the nearest green space, the river or the edge of town.

  LimitationWe do not fly over the A34, the M4, other main roads, the railway or houses, and any search close to them is judged on its own merits.

• CAA Registered Drone Operator

  Airframe is a CAA Registered Drone Operator and our pilots are qualified for commercial operations.

• Aviation safety and airspace

  Every search is planned within UK drone rules, including checks on controlled airspace, roads, railways and people nearby.

• Site-specific assessment

  Each search is assessed for its own location, access and hazards before we fly.

• Weather and suitability

  Rain, wind, fog and low cloud can stop or limit a flight. We will not fly when it is unsafe, and we will tell you why.

• Fully insured

  Commercial drone liability insurance is in place for every deployment. Documentation is available on request.

• Animal welfare and your information

  We work to your plan so the animal is not pushed further away, keep you informed, and do not share your details with third parties.

More on how we plan and fly operations and the aircraft we use.