Rubbish and wildlife

Mission Statement

WIRES aims to actively rehabilitate and preserve Australian wildlife and inspire others to do the same

Over summer we like to remind people about the simple things they can do in their daily lives to reduce the impact of rubbish on the environment.

Please take a moment to think about how you dispose of rubbish and its impact on our native animals, and encourage everyone around you to do the same.

Around 8 million items of litter enter the marine environment every single day. Around 80% of this is washed from land, with cigarette butts, food and drink wrappers and fishing gear making its way into our oceans and rivers through run-off from storm water drains, or being left on beaches and river banks.

This litter is harming and even killing our wildlife through entanglement and ingestion, with at least 77 species of marine wildlife found in Australian waters being affected.

All sorts of rubbish left behind, can injure wildlife and other animals. How we responsibly dispose of rubbish can help prevent severe injuries and death to inquisitive or hungry native animals.

WIRES receives a large number of calls to rescue birds injured by, or tangled in, fishing line. This is distressing when you consider it is a preventable injury. If you do go fishing, please be alert and pick up any discarded line you may see lying about and dispose of it responsibly.

Sounds depressing? It need not be, if we only spare a thought for the other creatures we share this environment with, by cleaning up after ourselves, or after others who are less responsible.