Redland City Council is urgently seeking animal-loving volunteers for their afterhours wildlife ambulance service, with the next induction to be held on Saturday 23 April.
Redland City Mayor Karen Williams said the ambulance service was operated by a team of dedicated volunteers who rescued sick, injured and orphaned native wildlife across the city every night of the year.
“The Redlands is renowned for its unique environment and this important community service supports our wildlife and protects our environmental character,” she said.
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“The majority of our native animals are nocturnal and it’s vital that we are able to transport sick or injured wildlife for veterinary care between the hours of 5pm and 8am, the period when wildlife is more likely to wander into the path of oncoming traffic.
“Last November, wildlife volunteers rescued a koala that was trying to climb a steel power pole in the middle of a roundabout. After a health check, it was released back into its home territory a day later.”
Cr Williams said Council supplied a fully-equipped vehicle and covered running costs, including fuel and equipment for volunteers, who work in teams of three and are rostered on-call for a seven day period once every five-to- six weeks.
“We currently have 15 trained ambulance volunteers who answer calls from the community about sick and injured wildlife and transport them to a vet,” she said.
“In 2015, the service answered more than 2400 calls – that’s an average of six calls every night –giving our native wildlife the best chance of making it back to their homes in the Redlands bush and urban areas.”
All volunteers must be over the age of 18, hold a current driver’s licence and live in theRedlands. No prior experience is needed to join this community volunteer program and full training is provided.
To register for an induction at Council’s IndigiScapes Centre, contact Lisa Bailey on 3824 8611 or [email protected] for more information. Call RAWA on 3833 4031 if you see an injured animal.
