Media Releases

WIRES Partner with Currumbin Wildlife Hospital to Help Wildlife

Tuesday, August 18, 2020

WIRES is proud to be supporting Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, Queensland to expand its facility and be equipped to treat a rapidly increasing number of sick, injured and orphaned Australian wildlife.

The hospital was built in 2009 with a plan to cater for a 10-20% growth in admissions annually, but within ten years this increased by 300%.

The recent drought and Black Summer bushfires resulted in a record number of wildlife hospital admissions. Over 1,500 native animals were admitted from November to January with almost 100 animals daily at the peak of the bushfires.

WIRES is contributing over $312,000 to fund the construction of the hospital extension as well as the medical fitout costs. The works are scheduled for completion before summer which is traditionally its busiest period.

The new extension will provide increased capacity for triage, examination and treatment, while also increasing the capacity for native animals requiring hospitalisation for extended periods of time.

The COVID-19 pandemic has not reduced general admissions, in fact during the month of May 2020 the hospital admitted 14% more native animals than May 2019.

According to WIRES CEO Leanne Taylor Currumbin Wildlife Hospital is one of a few specialist wildlife hospitals in Australia and provides exceptional care to native wildlife.

“We have worked closely with Currumbin Wildlife Hospital for many years as they help with the specialised treatment of rescued animals brought in by WIRES volunteers. We feel fortunate to be in the position to fund this much needed project as a result of the community donations we received to help wildlife in the wake of the recent emergency events,” said Taylor.

WIRES 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. This dedicated rescue resource will help animals get the fastest possible assistance, whilst ensuring rescued animals will get immediate emergency vet treatment and will be able to be rehabilitated within the existing network of qualified local carers.

Senior Vet of Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, Dr Michael Pyne is extremely appreciative of the additional rescue support and of the positive impact the extension will have on the 12 000 + wildlife patients that enter the hospital each year.

“The current Currumbin Wildlife Hospital was built after we encountered severe flooding and a generous donor provided the funds to build a new hospital. Now after a tumultuous period of drought and bushfires, we are grateful for this incredible offer from WIRES to extend our hospital. We are thrilled to be able to serve the community by treating, rehabilitating and releasing native wildlife in need,” Dr Pyne said.

For more information or interviews please contact

John Grant – WIRES Media Officer – 0416 272 153 or media@wires.org.au

www.wires.org.au

Candice Dixon – Foundation Coordinator – 07 5534 0889 or cdixon@cws.org.au

currumbinwildlifehospital.org.au

Media Enquiries:

WIRES Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service

John Grant, WIRES Media Officer

Phone: (02) 8977 3327

Email: media@wires.org.au

Website: www.wires.org.au

Social Media: LinkedIn/Instagram @wireswildliferescue

Facebook: @wires.wildlife.rescue  

About WIRES:

WIRES, Australia's largest wildlife rescue organisation has been rescuing and caring for native animals 365 days a year for almost 35 years. WIRES mission is to actively rehabilitate and preserve Australian wildlife and inspire others to do the same. WIRES operate a dedicated Wildlife Rescue Office assisting the community and wildlife 7 days a week and WIRES have 28 regional branches with over 3,000 volunteers involved in wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, information and education. Annually WIRES provide rescue advice and assistance for tens of thousands of sick, injured, orphaned and displaced animals and run around 100 wildlife training courses for thousands of participants. In the wake of the devastating 2019/2020 emergency events, WIRES began providing significant national support for wildlife, supporting over 240 projects to assist with wildlife rescue and care across every state and territory. WIRES are also working with major partners to support the long-term recovery of wildlife habitat and the long-term preservation of native species in the wild nationally.

Currumbin Wildlife Hospital Media Enquiries:

Currumbin Wildlife Hospital

Candice Dixon, Foundation Coordinator

Phone: +61 7 5534 0889

Email: cdixon@cws.org.au

Website: www.currumbinwildlifehospital.org.au

Social Media: Instagram @currumbinwildlifehospital Facebook/LinkedIn: @currumbinwildlifehospitalfoundation

About Currumbin Wildlife Hospital:

Currumbin Wildlife Hospital opened 31 years ago and has grown to be one of the busiest wildlife hospitals in the world. It admits over 12, 000 animals a year, including almost 600 koalas. The Currumbin Wildlife Hospital’s mission is to treat, rehabilitate and release sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife and is a service that is provided free of charge to the community. There have been over 125, 000 admissions in the hospital over the last 20 years and this figure continues to rise. The Currumbin Wildlife Hospital relies on community donations to continue its vital work.

Contact media@wires.org.au for enquiries or call 0416 272 153.

For the latest updates on bushfire recovery projects and emergency response
Read WIRES Emergency Recovery Plan and WIRES National Emergency Response Plan