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‘Wildlife don’t come with a credit card': who pays for a koala’s vet bill?
Australian Community Media
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7/18/2024
Despite the financial strain and workplace shortage in the veterinary industry, many regional NSW vets continue to treat native wildlife pro bono.
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News
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00:00
Australia's native wildlife is under serious threat with a surge in wildlife care admissions
00:07
amid a lack of funding and veterinary care specialists.
00:11
Okay there's no medicare for wildlife, wildlife don't come with a credit card
00:16
so you know we take on that responsibility because we feel like we should.
00:22
Despite the financial strain on the veterinary industry many regional New South Wales vets
00:28
continue to treat native wildlife like koalas pro bono with no compensation.
00:34
If wildlife don't get the care that they need or the care that they deserve so that timely
00:40
veterinary treatment then the option is for them not to get any treatment and to potentially
00:45
you know pass away in quite a horrific manner or in quite a painful way.
00:50
There's also a workforce shortage even as a New South Wales inquiry recommends the government
00:56
provide dedicated funding for wildlife vet services and treatment.
01:01
It's not necessarily a sustainable outcome for the charity sector
01:06
that is largely driven by volunteers to fund that work.
01:10
Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital is a not-for-profit hospital that treats
01:15
thousands of native animals free of charge.
01:18
One of only two wildlife hospitals in the entire state that treats all wildlife species.
01:25
During 2023 we did see an increase in our admissions and that was up to 70%
01:30
on the previous year so in 2022.
01:37
Australian graduates, general practice vets and particularly overseas vets simply don't have the
01:43
knowledge and skills to deal with the vast array of wildlife that we have here in this country
01:48
and one of the salient points about being a wildlife vet is you know the anatomy and physiology
01:54
of the vast range of of species we see is incredibly different
01:59
and you know it takes many many many years to acquire that knowledge.
02:05
So if they don't get the care that they need and that sort of habitat you know whole holistic
02:11
approach then we might lose certain species we might lose the koala.
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