Emergency Recovery and Preparation
In the aftermath of catastrophic fires, severe drought and extreme weather taking a tragic toll on wildlife, we remain focused on rescue, rehabilitation and recovery.
The last 9 months have been unlike anything WIRES or the Australian community have ever experienced. Compounding the impact of one of the worsts droughts in history, massive fires raged for months in what has become known as Australia's Black Summer. Millions of hectares of land were burnt and 20% of Australian forests were lost.
In addition to supporting WIRES 28 branches in NSW, the global community support received enabled WIRES to provide national emergency support and WIRES has since funded over 240 rescue and care projects nationally for licenced wildlife carers, groups and vets across all states and territories.
While the true toll of the drought and fires on wild populations cannot be quantified, it was conservatively estimated that over 1 billion animals would have been lost. Now species thought to be common may need to be reclassified and it is unknown whether hundreds of species at risk of extinction can be saved.
From September to May WIRES volunteers accepted over 26,000 rescues and we continue to assist sick, injured and orphaned native animals every day. WIRES are also working on a wide range of major projects with key partners to implement the best long-term solutions to assist wildlife and we are focused on preparation for coming seasons as it is forecast that the frequency and intensity of bushfires and extreme weather will continue to increase.
Wildlife Rescue 7 days a week, 365 days a year
WIRES mission is to actively rehabilitate and preserve Australian wildlife and inspire others to do the same.
WIRES (NSW Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service Inc.) has been rescuing and caring for wildlife for over 30 years and is the largest wildlife rescue organisation in Australia. WIRES currently has 3,000 volunteers in 28 NSW branches involved in the rescue and care of wildlife and we have a dedicated Rescue Office that operates 365 days a year assisting the community to help native animals in distress.
WIRES is passionate about supporting smaller volunteer organisations in the wildlife sector with the same mission, as well as Universities, Veterinary Associations and other leading scientific and environmental groups. In the last 5 years WIRES has been working with organisations including: WWF, National Parks Association, Humane Society International, The Wilderness Society, Nature Conservation Council, Birdlife, RSPCA, Animal Welfare League and IFAW and we thank these organisations for their significant ongoing contribution to the wildlife rehabilitation sector.
Currently WIRES presence is primarily in NSW where we responding to more than 90,000 rescues each year, we also receive around 170,000 calls to our 1300 WIRES line annually, including thousands of interstate calls. WIRES also plays a major role in community wildlife education with traditionally hundreds of thousands of unique visitors to our website annually which increased to over 1 million unique visitors in just the first week of January 2020.
In response to the tragic toll of the catastrophic fires and drought on wildlife, WIRES is actively pursuing significant opportunities to help wildlife more broadly across Australia, including partnering on projects to improve long-term outcomes for native animals.
Give Now to Help Wildlife
Your donations help WIRES to rescue and care for more native animals, provide more wildlife information and education to the community, to protect and preserve native animals and to train and support more volunteer rescuers and carers. All gifts $2 and over are tax-deductible within Australia.
