Help give Coffs Coast wildlife a second chance

The Coffs Coast is home to an extraordinary range of native wildlife. But when an animal is injured, sick or orphaned, it needs somewhere local to go.

Injured, sick and orphaned land-based animals need somewhere they can be rescued, assessed, stabilised and rehabilitated. Right now the Sanctuary's capacity to provide that care is limited.

The Wildlife Emergency Unit Appeal will raise $250,000 to help establish and equip a dedicated Mobile Wildlife Emergency Unit, and strengthen our capacity to provide emergency rescue, triage and rehabilitation for land-based wildlife across the region.

Bushfire and disaster response

Because the unit is mobile, it's designed to go where it's needed most in an emergency. It can be set up as a forward treatment point as close to a fire ground as is safe. There, burnt and smoke-affected wildlife can be assessed, given fluids and stabilised on site, rather than being driven for an hour while its condition worsens.

We'll always work to the directions of the RFS and NPWS and never enter an active fire ground. In practice, that means staging at an evacuation point or a safe access road, treating the animals brought to us and moving forward as areas are cleared. The same setup will support our response to storms, floods and oil spills.

With H5 bird flu confirmed at Corindi Beach, we're in the final stages of setting up the Mobile Wildlife Emergency Unit as a registered wildlife triage facility. An assessment gazebo alongside it will let seabirds be examined and tested before they come anywhere near the animals already in our care. That means we can keep caring for sick and injured shearwaters this season while protecting the rest of the sanctuary.

The timing matters. Shearwaters are due back along the Coffs Coast next month, potentially bringing hundreds of birds needing help. Our concern is that birds which are simply exhausted or injured — not infected — will miss out on care because the virus is in the area.