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Concerns highlighted over handling and rescuing animals
ABC NEWS (Australia)
Follow
10/10/2023
A Tasmanian woman has landed herself in hospital and in extreme pain after attempting to rescue a platypus. The feisty creature spurred her hand yes platypuses have spurs venomous spurs on their hind legs.
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TV
Transcript
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00:00
First of all, we have to say thank you to Jenny for even attempting to rescue it, because
00:06
we encourage everyone to help wildlife where they can.
00:09
So what people really need to do is, in doubt with any animal, always call your local wildlife
00:15
group or WISE and just check what you're approaching.
00:18
Because you have to remember, they see us as predators.
00:21
They don't see us as coming in to rescue them.
00:23
They see us as coming in to harm them.
00:25
So caution always.
00:26
Yeah, I guess Jenny thought that this platypus was a cuddly furry little thing and no chance
00:32
of having something like this happen.
00:34
So what are some other animals you might think are not too dangerous, but can give you a
00:38
nasty injury when you're trying to help?
00:40
Look, Joe, to be honest, they all look cute and cuddly, except the snakes, of course,
00:45
and probably the flying foxes.
00:48
But don't be fooled.
00:49
You know, we tell everybody.
00:51
They can all give you a nasty bite.
00:52
They are wild animals.
00:54
They can give you a nasty scratch as well.
00:56
So the ones we're particularly concerned about always is to treat every snake as if it could
01:02
be venomous.
01:03
Always stay away from flying foxes because they can carry the lissivirus.
01:07
And even though the percentage is quite low, there's still a risk that you can catch it.
01:12
We advise people to keep away from raptors because you can get a nasty claw mark from
01:18
them.
01:19
You can also get a nasty bite from them.
01:20
And in fact, even parrots, even lorikeets, when they're injured, they will give you a
01:24
nasty bite as well.
01:26
I think one of the worst ones is the little sugar gliders, which look terribly cute, but
01:31
they'll give you a bit of venom as well.
01:33
Right.
01:34
It sounds like that's happened to you.
01:35
So what general approach should you take when trying to do the right thing?
01:45
So always proceed with caution.
01:47
If you've got, if you're in an area where you can't get anybody to help you, we always
01:51
ask people if they can carry a towel or a blanket in the car, put the towel or the blanket
01:56
gently over the animal if it appears injured.
01:59
If you've hit a kangaroo or something that's larger, don't approach it because it can suddenly
02:04
jump up from whatever it is.
02:06
If it's injured and not killed, it can jump up and it can do you damage as well.
02:10
And just put the blanket over gently.
02:12
Get to the vet as quickly as you can, because just like humans, the sooner we get an animal
02:16
to a vet, the sooner the chance that they'll survive.
02:19
And John, we can just catch a glimpse of the sky behind you.
02:22
Looks like you've got a nice yard there.
02:24
What kind of animals have been active in your garden with the onset of spring?
02:29
Well, I'm pretty privileged when I'm here because I've got everything from endangered
02:34
species like the beach stone curlew is here, the kangaroos jump across the lawn here, there's
02:41
flying foxes, there's all sorts of migratory birds come to the mudflats behind me.
02:46
That looks a bit probably more glamorous than it actually is.
02:50
So yeah, very privileged here.
02:51
This neck of the woods get a lot of wildlife.
02:54
A nice spot for a wise guy.
02:55
OK, John, thanks so much for having a chat to us.
02:58
Thanks, Joe.
02:59
We appreciate it.
02:59
[BLANK_AUDIO]
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