British Divers Marine Life Rescue

BDMLR is an organisation dedicated to the rescue and well-being of all marine animals in distress around the UK.

In 2013 we celebrated our 25th anniversary.

RESCUE HOTLINE: 01825 765546 during office hours. (07787 433412 out of office hours - see below)

What to do if you find a live stranded marine mammal

Please note the place, the state of the tide and any injuries you can see without getting close and call 01825 765546 during office hours.
After 5pm on working days, or at weekends or Bank Holidays, please call our out of hours number on 07787 433412 (NB: this number does not receive texts or pictures). We will then advise you on what to do and will get a trained medic out as soon as possible. You can download a guidance document for reference by clicking here, or read more infiormation here »

We are a voluntary network of trained marine mammal medics who respond to call outs from the general public, HM Coastguard, Police, RSPCA and SSPCA and are the only marine animal rescue organisation operating across England, Wales and Scotland. Not only are we called upon by the other emergency services, but we also train their staff.

BDMLR is a registered charity and is operated entirely by volunteers. Our rescue teams are on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

We have a wide range of equipment strategically placed throughout the country to deal with strandings of marine animals, oil spills, fishing gear entanglement and in fact any type of marine animal in trouble. This includes rescue boats, equipment trailers, whale and dolphin pontoon sets, a whale disentanglement kit and each area has a medic kit with essential supplies.

Although our name mentions divers, you don't have to be a diver to be a supporter or medic. Our medic base covers all walks of life and includes: teachers, plumbers, executives, managers, retail staff, secretaries, builders, photographers... the list goes on and on. All you need is a positive attitude, don't mind being wet and cold, and are able-bodied. The rest we teach you on our Marine Mammal Medic Course.

We are entirely funded by donations and can only run our emergency service for marine animals with your support.

Interested in becoming a Marine Mammal Medic?

We need more Marine Mammal Medics to join our rescue teams throughout the UK to enable us to continue our vital first response. Please note that you do not need to be a diver. More about our training courses »