FAWNA NSW INC

PUBLIC MESSAGE TO PEOPLE OFFERING HELP TO F.A.W.N.A. (NSW) INC WITH THE CURRENT BUSHFIRES IN MIDCOAST, PORT MACQUARIE-HASTINGS AND KEMPSEY SHIRES

FAWNA would like to thank all those wonderful people who have offered assistance of all kinds to support our efforts with displaced, injured and burnt wildlife from the fires. We can’t possibly respond to the huge number of contacts but we value each and every one – thank you.

Our volunteers are equipped and able to cope with the number of animals that have come in from the fires over the past few weeks. We are well-equipped and our members are trained to handle affected wildlife and administer to their needs. Our wonderful colleagues at Koala Conservation Australia have been spearheading the Search and Rescue efforts, not only for koalas, but keeping an eye out for all species. Sadly there are not a lot of animals being found and brought in. In the MidCoast Region Koalas in Care have also been active in the aftermath of the numerous fires that started in October.

People from other wildlife rescue groups have been wonderful offering help as and when needed and these will be our first port of call should it be that we do need to send animals outside the FAWNA system.

We are required that all animal rehabilitation is done by licensed and trained people so we can’t accept animal caring help from members of the public. But, FAWNA has found it heart-warming that there have been so many offers of to assist. IFAW, the International Fund for Animal Welfare, has funded expensive burn creams and our vets have been wonderful with donation of their time and supplies.

We have received a number of donations via the donate tab on www.fawna.org.au for which we are most grateful. We would like all donors to know that all monies donated to FAWNA go directly to assist wildlife whether it is buying food or medications for them or paying vet bills and supporting members with equipment they need to directly care for their injured and orphaned critters.

FAWNA has no paid staff and we do everything by the smell of an oily rag to make sure our funds do meet our core objective of rescue, rehabilitation and release. Our volunteers are champions and we try to make their wildlife caring work as economical as possible for them.

After the Pappinbarra fires a few years ago we were able to use donated monies to buy animal foods that locals could collect and leave out for the hungry wildlife after the fires.

We do ask members of the public to put out shallow and safe water dishes for wildlife and clean and replenish them regularly. Rocks and ramps for safety to save any animal getting stuck or drowned is recommended.

A big Thank You all from Team FAWNA