Wildcare Australia Inc volunteers responded to the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast bushfires in September 2019 which highlighted the need to be fully prepared to respond to future bushfires and other natural disaster events. During the 2019 bushfires, Wildcare volunteers were on site 24/7 for 9 days to receive bushfire-affected wildlife and undertook several days of ‘black-walks’ to locate injured wildlife.
With support of $39,000 from a Landcare Led Bushfire Recovery Grant, Wildcare was able to equip two Emergency Response Units (funded by Noosa City Council and Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife) with essential veterinary, rescue, safety and first aid items.
The two emergency response trailers are now fully equipped with essential
rescue and veterinary equipment and are now ready to be deployed at any future
man-made or natural disaster including bushfires, heat stress events, flooding etc.,” said President Karen Scott.
The Funding also covered training costs for the accredited course ‘Basic Wildfire Awareness’ for 50 wildlife rescuers from Wildcare and Bats Qld as well as 10 veterinary staff from Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital and Currumbin Wildlife Hospital. This training is essential for all volunteers and veterinary staff working in and around bushfires and enables them to undertake their role professionally and efficiently.
The emergency response trailers will service the South-east Queensland area for many,
many years to come. It has provided essential equipment to deal with both small and large-scale events for a wide variety of species. https://wildcare.org.au/