'Horrific scenes': Rescuers implore community to do better amid spike in wildlife injuries

According to data from Wildlife Victoria, in the year up to October 2023, Ballarat recorded a 30 per cent increase in the number of cases reported to the organisation compared to the same period in 2022.

The most common calls to the organisation were to report animals which had been hit by vehicles or for incidents involving fledgling birds, with the most affected species being kangaroos, possums, magpies and ravens.

This increase has been noticed by local wildlife rescuers and carers, such as Gary Ward, who runs an animal rehabilitation shelter from his home in Snake Valley.

To see a reduction in the amount of wildlife harmed, Mr Ward said the community's attitude towards animals needed to change.

He said he had been regularly dealing with "horrific scenes" where people had left seriously wounded kangaroos to die after they were hit by cars or tangled in fences.

By neither helping kangaroos or calling wildlife rescuers when they are injured, Mr Ward said the animals were frequently condemned to long and unpleasant deaths.

"[People] blame kangaroos for everything, I've gone out to so many kangaroos that have been hit by a car and just left behind, they leave them in the middle of the road alive," he said.

"People find kangaroos while walking their dog and you go there and look and you think 'that poor kangaroo's been there for a month', it's just horrific.

"They starve to death, their injuries slowly get infected, it takes over their whole body and they're still alive laying there.

"I hate to think how many kangaroos [die] that way."

Mr Ward has seen a noticeable decline in kangaroo numbers around Ballarat in the past 10 years, something he fears won't recover as cars and fencing take a toll on the population.

"People just don't allow for [kangaroos] when they put up fences," he said.

"There is kangaroo friendly fencing, but most [fences are] that really bad barbed wire [type] that's just completely unnecessary in most cases.

"I go to kangaroos stuck in fences and the landowners say 'they damaged my fences and they damage my car', they get stuck in them and nearly every time it's fatal.

"I've seen hundreds of kangaroos stuck in fences and they don't damage the fences, they might bend a few wires, but it's only because they're struggling to get out."

While cars and fencing are responsible for many deaths outside of the city, wildlife rescuer Jessica Robertson said over the past four years there has been a 350 per cent increase in reports of dog and cat attacks on native wildlife in Ballarat.

An example of such an incident occurred in October 2023, when a young family witnessed a kangaroo being savaged by three dogs in front of their home in Sebastopol.

To reduce attacks, Ms Robertson and wildlife advocates have campaigned for the council to introduce a 24 hour cat curfew, which will go to public consultation in 2024.

"We have a lot of problems, and we're doing our best as volunteers to lobby local and state governments to really make a difference, because we're in a biodiversity crisis at the moment," she said.

"We're losing a huge amount of wildlife due to habitat destruction, climate change and urbanisation.

"Basically we're taking all their habitat [and] we're clashing wildlife with cats and dogs which are not complementary, and the government's not really addressing any of it."

In addition to government assistance, Ms Robertson wants the wider public to take greater responsibility for protecting wildlife.

By growing more native habitat, containing cats and dogs, putting nesting boxes in trees and making wildlife bridges over steel fences, Ms Robertson said people could easily improve urban communities for wildlife.

"We've taken their homes, we need to learn to live with them," she said.

"There's a lot of things you can do to secure your property to make it wildlife friendly."

Wildlife Victoria chief executive Lisa Palma said the rise in native animal injuries in Ballarat is similar to trends seen across the state.

This increase has meant a rise in operating costs for the charity, while also placing an additional burden on wildlife rescuers and carers.

She said despite providing a vital service, the organisation doesn't receive enough funding from the government, which puts undue pressure on workers and volunteers.

"We get about seven per cent of our total operating costs from the government, and we are pretty much reliant on the generosity of the Victorian public to donate so we can keep providing this public service for the state," she said.

"By donating to Wildlife Victoria, that money is going directly to save 60,000 to 70,000 animals [each year].

"The future of our wildlife is absolutely in the hands of our community, and we certainly encourage people to consider [donating to] Wildlife Victoria."

As well as more funding, Ms Palma said the organisation was in need of more volunteers as the burden is falling on too few people.

"We need to remember the animals we're taking into care are not healthy animals, they're coming into care because something's wrong, they're injured, they're orphaned, they're sick, and it takes a very strong emotional toll on you," she said.

"Unless we are able to substantially reverse climate change, habitat loss, and urbanisation we know there's going to be a need long into the future for wildlife rescue and wildlife care.

"We need to think about succession planning, we need to think about bringing on the next generation of rescuers and carers."

When Mr Ward first became a rescuer, the burden of providing 24 hour care for wildlife was something he didn't want to take on owing to the onerous tasks involved.

But he said after starting as a rescuer, he had little option as there were not enough people to take animals in and help rehabilitate them.

"I thought 'well I'm going to have to do it, nobody else can do it, I have to do it'," he said.

"I didn't really want to because I used to see what was involved, but I thought 'well I've got to do something because there's nowhere for them to go."

This lack of support is something that has also affected Ms Robertson during her time volunteering as a wildlife rescuer.

"When you start to realise your volunteer group are the only people [helping wildlife] it's quite daunting," she said.

"It's difficult to [take a break] because you think, 'well, if I don't do anything, it's just not going to happen', that's the dilemma."

"It's a bit of a poisoned chalice, but we know we're helping wildlife and that helps us sleep at night.

"It's a huge burden but it can be very rewarding when you can help an animal and you can release it."

Please report sick, injured or orphaned wildlife to Wildlife Victoria on 03 8400 7300 and help them continue their work by making a donation via wildlifevictoria.org.au