1 week Ago By Bianca Hall, Margaret Gordon
Wildlife rescue groups have issued desperate calls for recurrent funding from state and federal governments, as animal charities face record demand for their services amid dwindling financial resources and donor fatigue. The only all-species wildlife hospital between Sydney and the Gold Coast says it has been forced to reduce its opening hours over Christmas to protect the mental and physical health of its staff, as it grapples with more than twice as many animal admissions this year compared with 2021. Wildlife Victoria chief executive and carer Lisa Palma releasing an echidna she rehabilitated.
Credit: Justin McManus Dr Ken Henry is the chairman of Wildlife Recovery Australia, the parent organisation of Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital. He said a combination of no government funding, donor fatigue, and an uncertain economic climate – as well as chronic veterinary sector shortages – had created an untenable situation for the organisation. “The relentless demand for wildlife care has forced us to reduce our opening hours to protect the mental and physical health of our veterinary staff and volunteers,” he said.
“It’s a hell of a burden the state places upon the veterinary profession. There’s no other profession, none at all, that the state treats in this way.” Former NAB chairman Ken Henry was appointed chairman of Wildlife Recovery Australia in 2020.
Credit: Peter Rae Wildlife Victoria recorded its busiest day on record several weeks ago, fielding almost a call every minute for help for injured wildlife. Chief executive Lisa Palma, a wildlife rescuer and carer herself, said her sector was “on the front line” of climate change, as unpredictable and extreme weather and increasing urban sprawl drove increased calls for help. “It often feels really frustrating that we’re battling our hearts out on the front line of climate change, habitat loss and urbanisation – it’s real, we’re seeing it – and yet there appears to be a lot more apathy or lack of awareness, more broadly, from both governments and others,” she said.
“I dread to think what the call volume is going to be like in 10 years’ time.” Grey-headed flying foxes are among species that show mass deaths can occur if temperatures rise above a certain level, such as 42 degrees for these mammals. Credit: Eddie Jim One of the more common sights on hot days were grey-headed flying foxes dropping dead from trees, Palma said.
“They’ve got a physiological limit of 42 degrees – and I have had to stand there and watch while they dropped dead from trees in piles of dead bodies, and go through the piles of dead bodies to try and find any we could save ...
that’s a species that is now a threatened species, deeply important to the health of our eucalypt forests, and they’re not coping with the rising temperatures.” As the bushfire season begins in earnest, including a fire that remains out of control in Victoria’s Grampians region , wildlife rescuers and carers are bracing for a rapid increase in calls for help. Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital’s admissions rose from 1339 animals in 2021 to 2915 in 2024, as of Thursday last week.
A sugar glider being cared for by Lisa Palma at her home. Palma describes sugar gliders as “very, very cute, but almost like tiny little baby Gremlins, [they’re] very vicious little creatures.” Credit: Margaret Gordon “We are struggling,” said Wildlife Recovery Australia veterinary services general manager Dr Bree Talbot.
“It’s physically and emotionally draining work to witness animal suffering each day. “We’ve seen almost 3000 patients in 2024, including many species threatened with extinction. We’ve treated almost 8500 animals since we opened.
The numbers keep growing each year.” Wildlife Victoria experienced its busiest-ever month in October, with 21,644 calls for help coming in. The next month, another record was set when 1032 calls were placed in a single day on November 11 – almost one every minute.
A kangaroo with paws burnt in bushfires near Queanbeyan during Black Summer in February 2020. Credit: John Moore/Getty Images Australia watched, shocked, when an estimated 3 billion animals were killed or displaced during the Black Summer bushfires of 2019-20. Many of those who couldn’t offer rescue or carer services donated money to help the cause.
But donations have slowed to a trickle, as the cost of living bites. “It’s unsustainable that governments continue to rely on wildlife hospitals like ours to treat the native animals under their legal protection, with no recompense,” Henry said. “Our seven days-a-week wildlife hospital treats thousands of animals every year, and costs about $1.
5 million a year to run. If you had six, seven or eight of those across the state, you’re talking $10 to $15 million a year to provide first-class veterinary care for the state’s wildlife. “Recurrent government funding would reduce the mental and physical stress on our people by allowing us to train more people to share the load.
” Wildlife Victoria’s operating costs were $7 million this year, with just $500,000 provided by the state government. “I have no commitment of any funding after this year, so I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Palma said. Loading The Paris Agreement seeks to limit global warming to no more than 1.
5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, beyond which catastrophic impacts on “people, planet and economies” are likely, according to the 2024 UN Emissions Gap report . Last month, the CSIRO and weather bureau released updated climate data showing Australia’s average temperatures have risen by 1.5 degrees since records began.
The average temperatures continue to rise steadily, while the average number of extreme bushfire days has risen by as many as 25 days a year in parts of the country. Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter .
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. License this article Animals Wildlife For subscribers Drought Climate crisis Ken Henry Bianca Hall is The Age's environment and climate reporter, and has worked in a range of roles including as a senior writer, city editor, and in the federal politics bureau in Canberra. Connect via Twitter , Facebook or email .
Margaret Gordon is an Audio Video Producer at The Age Connect via email . Most Viewed in Environment Loading.
