History of Wolf Watch – A safe haven for Wolves

Wolf Watch UK was established in 1993 by our founder Tony Haighway, whose initial involvement with wolf conservation started with the rescue of a pair of wolves from a closing zoo in Warwickshire.

From these small beginnings, Wolf Watch UK has gone on to provide sanctuary for 36 displaced wolves to date.

Our wolves normally arrive here as a consequence of dominance fights, zoo closures or excess breeding. They then remain here for the rest of their lives.

Without our help, many of these magnificent animals would probably have been euthanised.

The Sanctuary

The Wolf Watch Centre is located in approximately one hundred acres of remote wooded valley in Shropshire and is staffed by a team of dedicated volunteers.

Wolf Watch UK is a private membership wolf conservation group and is essentially accessed by joining our Adopt-a-Wolf Membership and purchasing a visitors pass for pre-arranged visits. 

In addition, appropriate educational visits for Universities and Colleges can be booked in advance.

Our Ethos

We are somewhat unique in our ethos, as it is based entirely around the welfare of the animals in our care for the duration of their lifetime. 

We do not operate along the conventional lines of being a public paying zoo style attraction but rely solely on Adopt a Wolf Membership, donations and individual fundraising days. 

In addition, some of our wolves have been used in the making of a number of educational TV documentaries, including prestigious ones presented by Sir David Attenborough and other renowned documentary film producers. Occasionally they have appeared in films and television series, however, they are not trained to act, they are seen as wolves being themselves and doing things that wolves do, in as near a natural habitat as possible. All of which help to fund our existence and sustain the project into the future.