Aussie Wildlife Recovery & Emergency Preparedness

When I reflect on the past twelve months it’s hard to believe what the world has endured - it has truly been a year like no other. Extreme weather events, bushfires and COVID-19 have provided the backdrop to major challenges for humanity and the environment across the globe. 

For Australia the devastating impact of ongoing drought and bushfires has left an indelible scar on our country and tragically our wildlife populations. 

However along with these challenges I have never witnessed such a groundswell of interest, care and support for our native animals. People just like you have united in the cause to halt the decline of threatened species, fight habitat destruction and value the role wildlife plays in our national identity. This unprecedented support clearly demonstrates people across Australia and around the world understand our native animals need saving – now. 

I hope this is just the beginning of a new chapter for Australia – one where our wildlife is valued by all levels of our community including those who are in the position of power.  

Thank you so much for being a part of this movement and standing up for Australian wildlife.

It’s unimaginable that an estimated three billion native animals have been killed or displaced by the Summer bushfires, and millions of hectares of land burnt. Unprecedented disasters of this scale require unprecedented collaboration to help wildlife recover which is why we have partnered with leading environmental groups, conservation organisations and universities, to implement programs designed to deliver the best long-term impact for wildlife. 

With the support of generous donors like you, together we have funded:  

• 64 projects to support the national recovery of wildlife and wildlife habitat. 
• the planting of over 92,000 plants for habitat revegetation 
• installation of 1554 nest boxes 
• long term species recovery and habitat programs, expanding threatened species care and breeding programs 
• national veterinary vaccination grants to increase veterinary capacity to treat flying-foxes 
• the building and distribution of $1 million worth of arboreal water stations for native wildlife 
• the construction and expansion of wildlife hospital extensions and medical fit out costs 
• bushfire recovery projects to protect over 17 threatened and endangered species including the endangered Northern Bettong and Kangaroo Island Dunnart from extinction 
• a full-time emergency rescuer out of Currumbin Wildlife Hospital to support the local rehabilitation network, ensuring animals needing urgent rescue attention can be assisted faster 
• free training for wildlife rescue groups across the country so that they can implement best practice response and care for wildlife 

And that’s just the start, a lot of recovery work is well underway, and though progress has been significantly impacted by COVID-19, we adapted quickly and continue to provide rescue support 24/7, 365 days a year. 

We are focused on increasing our capacity to rescue and care for more wildlife on an ongoing basis and improving emergency preparedness to better respond to major wildlife emergencies like the Black Summer Bushfires. Another priority focus is recovery, as without healthy, sustainable habitat and wild species populations, the animals we rescue and rehabilitate have nowhere safe to be released. Simply put, without the wild, there is no future for wildlife. 

The lead up to Christmas is always our busiest time of year for rescues, with carers looking after many sick, injured and often orphaned animals. With your ongoing support it is our privilege to keep working to ensure native animals can be returned to the wild now and in the future.  

We have done a lot this year and there is a lot more planned for 2021. Thank you for all that you have done to assist wildlife. We are deeply grateful for your support and wish you and your loved ones a safe and happy holiday season. 

Warm regards, 
Leanne Taylor 
WIRES CEO 

P.S. Without you, none of this is possible. If you are able to give a gift to support the ongoing rescue, rehabilitation and recovery of wildlife, please donate today. Our bushfire projects are just one part of our work, but we have many ongoing projects that need funding. In October alone we received over 21,000 calls for help. Thank you.

We hope you are staying safe and well during these challenging COVID-19 times. While this pandemic has impacted some of our operating procedures, WIRES continues to focus on bushfire recovery and using your donations to support projects that help our wildlife. The summer of bushfires in Australia have dominated our work for the last seven months and continue to do so.

The needs of our native animals are huge, as we face significant numbers of species requiring urgent intervention and one of the highest mammal extinction rates of any country in the world. Your donation is going towards immediate and long-term solutions to these issues.   

Following is an update on some major projects we have been developing in partnership with Australia’s leading animal conservation and environmental groups and universities. Without the donations we have received from around the world these important initiatives would not be possible, and this is just the beginning of what we have planned.

I thank you again for your generosity. As we implement ongoing recovery plans and increase rescue and care capacity for native animals in preparation for the coming spring and summer we will keep you updated. 

We have included some details on nine projects below.

Threatened species programs – over $3.5 million

WIRES is committed to restoring native wildlife populations and has developed important new partnerships to address the alarming number of native animals facing significant population decline.

Projects include:

• Australian Wildlife Conservancy partnership is focused on saving the Kangaroo Island Dunnart and Northern Bettong from extinction and also includes bushfire recovery programs.  
   
• Koala Health Hub (School of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney) is a three-year grant to support koala care, management and research. This grant will allow it to respond to an increasing need for koala care and management following recent bushfire and drought.

Wildlife care facilities and habitat protection - over $2.5 million

WIRES is helping community groups across the country to establish local programs that support existing wildlife populations in challenging and ever-changing environments.

Projects include:

• WIRES Landcare Australia Wildlife Relief and Recovery Grants - 64 environmental groups across the country received grants to support the recovery of wildlife habitats impacted by bushfire and drought. This includes rainforest revegetation, installation of nest boxes, feeding programs for endangered wildlife, management of invasive weeds, erosion control and protection of waterways and aquatic habitats.
   
• Water for Wildlife - A collaboration between WIRES, the University of Sydney, WWF Australia, Reece, Wildsip and other partners to build and distribute 800 Tree Troff ® drink stations in bushfire and drought affected areas.

• Drink Station Project - WIRES collaborated with Greater Sydney Local Land Services, local councils, Landcare/Bushcare groups, IFAW and NPWS to get emergency water stations installed for native wildlife species in response to extreme drought and fires. WIRES provided 120 automatic-filling drinking bowls to provide water for wildlife in semi-remote locations

Funding for animal rescue and care needs – over $5 million  

Projects include:

• Wildlife Emergency Relief Fund - In January WIRES established an emergency “Wildlife Relief Fund’ to support non-WIRES frontline wildlife rescue organisations. Over $2million was distributed to 223 groups and registered carers across the country to provide immediate assistance.
   
• Veterinary Relief Fund - In January WIRES established a fund to support vets and specialist wildlife veterinary practices treating animals that have been affected during the bushfire crisis and drought.  
     
• Animal Rescue Cooperative - WIRES supported Animal Rescue Cooperative (ARC) in feeding thousands of native animals affected by the fires and drought. WIRES continues to work with ARC to deliver hay, joey formula, birdseed, macropod pellets and fresh vegetables to wildlife carers. With ARC's extensive network of volunteers and transport, we have been able to deliver these items along with medical supplies, towels, knitted pouches and blankets to wildlife carers.
   
• Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, Queensland - WIRES is funding the construction to help build capacity to meet the increasing numbers of animal patients at Currumbin Wildlife Hospital. We will also be supporting ongoing emergency rescue assistance with a dedicated emergency rescue responder and emergency vehicle based at Currumbin to improve rescue response capability.

As we head into the Australian Spring/Summer season the number of calls for help increases. Our Rescue Line receives more than 170,000 calls for help each year and the next 3-6 months are our busiest. Spring is breeding season and our volunteers are inundated with orphaned wombat, possum, kangaroo and wallaby joeys as well as the chicks of the many amazing native birds in our country.

If you would like to support our ongoing work rescuing wildlife and getting them back to the wild where they belong please share and support our project -  Australian wildlife from rescue to release

Links:

• Supporting Australian wildlife from rescue to release
• Video-Australian Bushfires-WIRES Wildlife Rescue
• Follow us on Instagram for wildlife rescue stories and images