Aussie Wildlife Recovery & Emergency Preparedness

The Australian Bureau of Meterology is warning of an increased risk of significant bushfires across Australia this season. Whilst we are deeply concerned about the impacts this will have on native wildlife, we wanted to update you on the preparations taking place at WIRES, thanks to your support. 

Accelarating our Emergency Response

WIRES has now eight Emergency Responders equipped with Wildlife Ambulances. These Emergency Response Teams respond to our most critical daily rescues, and are deployed to disaster zones to assist with search and rescue missions, evacuations, relocations and the deliveries of emergency supplies. We've also established Volunteer Emergency Teams to provide extra support when disaster strikes. These are WIRES volunteers who've been given specialised training in bushfire safety and Emergency Response, and will play a vital role in our operational field activities.

Emergency Response Kits have been distributed to these teams and items including GPS locator beacons, rechargeable torches and handheld radios will be distributed when necessary.

Preparing to Protect

Fire preparedness and evacuation guidelines have been distributed to our over 4,000 strong network of volunteer carers, many of whom live in rural locations and may need safety to relocate wildlife in their care, during a bushfire event. We're also posting content for the Australian community, who often play an important role in helping wildlife during a bushfire and heat events.

A 24/7 Response

Our 24/7 Wildlife Rescue Office receives significant increases in calls during emergency events and is already receiving more than 500 calls a day. To assist, our head office Incident Management Teams is on stand by to help prioritise and respond to incoming calls, help coordinate rescue efforts, and liaise with Emergency Services, Bureau of Meterology, Veterinarian Clinics and other wildlife organizations.

Disaster Relief

Working with our long-term partner, WIRES now has a dedicated Diasaster Relief team distributing emergency food supplies, first aid, rescue equipment and replacement enclosures during disasters including floods, storms, oil spills and bushfire events. In the flood crisis of 2022 more than 750kg of supplementary food and mammal milk formulas were distributed in the first six weeks, and we are anticipating this season will result in a smilar need. 

We thank you sincerely for helping us build up the strength, capacity and breadth of our Wildlife Emergency Response across Australia. Working together, we are now a critical safeguard for our most vulnerable native species, and on their behalf we are very grateful. 

Your dedicated support is helping us build the capacity of wildlife rescue and rehabilitation across Australia to safeguard our most vulnerable native species and populations. 

One particular area requiring urgent support has been on the island of Tasmania, where thousands of native animals need urgent rescue and rehabilitation assistance every year.  

To help provide more highly trained wildlife rehabilitators across the state, your support has assisted WIRES to work closely with Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary, and The Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania to launch new comprehensive training programs for wildlife rehabilitators, and we are assisting with the daily coordination and placement of rescued native animals needing care.  

The step before expert rehabilitation and care, of course, is to make sure distressed native animals are rescued quickly and receive the best possible triage for the strongest chance of survival.   

To that end, in October 2020 WIRES established our Tasmanian-based Emergency Response Team (ERT). These highly skilled, full time Emergency Responders are trained in the rescue and care of all Tasmanian species,including the most venomous and are equipped with an all-terrain Wildlife Ambulance so they can travel long distances to transport sick, injured, and orphaned wildlife to vets,and onto rehabilitation and care. 

Each Wildlife Ambulance is fully equipped with rescue and medical equipment including incubators, oxygen concentrator units, heat pads, medical supplies and specialist formulas for orphaned infants needing acute care. 

Our Emergency Response Team in Tasmania has already responded to more than 1000 ‘critical’ Tasmanian rescues since its launch, with numbers rising significantly each year. In the first 5 months of 2023 our ERT across North and South Tasmania had already responded to 488 native animals requiring urgent assistance, with many being classified as endangered or critically endangered.   

 An example of just one of the endangered native animals requiring urgent assistance is the Tasmanian Devil joey below.  

Found late at night in Northern Tasmania, his mother likely killed by a car, he was rescued by our Emergency Responder Megan and provided vital fluids and critical care in our Wildlife Ambulance.  

Megan then transported the revived joey to a local wildlife carer where he’s now learning all the skills he’ll need for an eventual life in the wild.As a healthy young male, his isvital to the genetic viability of his now endangered species.  

Expanding our Emergency Response Teams Across Australia. 

Thanks to your support, WIRES now has seven fully equipped Wildlife Ambulances, and our Emergency Response Teams are expanding across NSW, Tasmania and Southern Queensland.  

These teams are supported by more than 100 fully trained volunteers, who are also extensively trained and ready to be deployed during emergency events.In addition to very specific species training our Emergency Response Teams complete training in bushfire and flood safety, emergency response,incident managementandfirst aid. 

All members have specialised skills and can be deployed across a range of incidents, from a routine, small-scale operation, right through to a large-scale incident involving a widespread impact, such as flooding and bushfires.   

They are able to respond to events within their own regional areas as well as in surrounding areas, with their key operational activities including search and rescue, recovery of wildlife, basic animal first aid and the transportation of wildlife to vets, triage centres and carers.  

With more than 1,000 native species in Australia threatened with extinction, our Emergency Response Teams are not just vital in times of disaster, but every single day and night of the year. We are extremely grateful for your role in making sure they are fully equipped, to support the long term survival of Australia’s wildlife.