Compassionate Animal Rescue & Exclusion - CARE

16/07/2025

🇦🇺🐍 World Snake Day 🐍🇦🇺

Australia is home to some of the most diverse and evolutionarily fascinating snakes on Earth, with over 200 native species, including around 100 venomous species—more than any other continent.

While often misunderstood, snakes are a vital part of Australia’s ecosystems, acting as key predators that regulate populations of rodents, birds, reptiles, and insects.

📉 Despite their importance, many native species face threats from habitat destruction, invasive species (like cane toads), and persecution driven by fear or misinformation.

On , let’s shift the narrative:
✅ Respect their role in nature
✅ Promote science-based snake safety
✅ Support conservation of native habitats

🧠 The more we understand, the better we coexist.

📷 Pilbara Olive Python (Liasis olivaceus barroni) — a rare and powerful native of WA’s pilbara region I recently had the privilege of safely catching and moving out of harms way.

16/07/2025

World Snake Day 🐍

Tucked away in a log pile, this stunning Lowland Copperhead peers out with quiet curiosity, a perfect reminder that some of our beautiful wildlife is often hidden in plain sight.

Snakes like this one are misunderstood far too often. But the truth is, they’re vital to the health of our ecosystems. Snakes help control rodent populations, maintain biodiversity & deserve protection and respect.

Fear is understandable but knowledge changes everything. The more you learn about snakes, the more you realise how cool & important they really are

Today, on World Snake Day, we are giving thanks to those who stand up for snakes every day, particularly Five Freedoms Animal Rescue and CARE – Compassionate Animal Rescue & Exclusion, who work tirelessly to keep wildlife safe through rescue, advocacy and humane response.

Snakes aren’t out to harm us, it’s fear and misunderstanding that create the danger.

Please consider storing local licensed snake catchers numbers in your phones.
These two men show that compassion towards even the most feared species is a quiet kind of courage, one that reminds us it’s far more noble to be kind than to cause harm out of fear.

Manfreds details can be found at
https://fivefreedoms.com.au/snake-catching

Richies details can be found at https://care-aus.com.au/

Photo captured at The Wildlings Woodend Wildlife Shelter of
Brigette Bardot the Lowland Copperhead.

04/07/2025

03/06/2025

Help Us Help Them.
Accurate Locations are Vital!

When reporting injured wildlife, please make sure you provide the most accurate location possible, it truly makes all the difference.

A clear location means we can reach the animal faster, & we are not wasting precious time searching large areas. A pin drop is great if it’s dropped exactly where the animal was last seen, not where you stopped later.

Even better? Snap a quick photo of the surroundings. Landmarks like signposts, fences, tree lines, anything, help us know we’re in the right place. A visual reference is often the key to getting there quickly.

It’s heartbreaking when we can’t find an injured animal, knowing they are out there suffering. But without clear location details, especially at night, it can become an impossible task.

Yes, wildlife move around even when severely injuried, we anticipate that but if we know where it was, we can start there and expand our search. Without that starting point, we may be scanning kilometres at night.

15/10/2024

20/08/2024

Know what to look for so you know when they need help!

18/08/2024

Recently I was called out to a house in Clunes to rescue birds that were trapped inside the wood heater flue.

While the rescue was relatively straight forward, it was entirely preventable. (see photo 5)

With spring fast approaching, many birds will be looking for a nesting site - Animal proof your flue, it’s better for them and it's better for you!

16/07/2024

Itsss World snake day 🌎 🐍

Did you know Australia is home to more than 150 species of land and sea snakes?

Snakes are a vital part of our ecosystems, supporting biodiversity as both predators and prey!

📸 Red belly black snake moved out of harms way on a construction site in NSW

14/07/2024

"Wild birds living naturally on a totally wild diet do not get MBD" - It is that simple!

It's the middle of July and seems way too early in the season for chicks. However, this sweet Little Raven chick didn't stand a chance because he had Metabolic Bone Disease and had to be euthanised yesterday. He was only a baby.
Is this distressing for me and the vets? Yes it is, because we know it is entirely preventable.
Metabolic bone disease in birds results in painful degenerative changes in the bones. It is caused by nutritional imbalance and deficiencies. Imbalance of calcium, phosphorus, and Vitamin D3 can lead to soft brittle beaks, claws and keel, bone fractures and enlarged parathyroid glands. These body changes lead to weakness, abnormal postures ( twisted neck ) appetite loss, lethargy, pain, and ultimately death in wild birds. People will be familiar with these terms, it is also called rickets in young birds, and osteoporosis in older birds. Both very painful conditions.

This is heart breaking for me and other bird carers because wild birds living naturally on a totally wild diet do not get MBD.
It is sadly due to people feeding these birds inappropriate foods lacking in essential vitamins and minerals. If the adult birds are unhealthy and struggling with nutritional deficiencies the baby birds are born with rickets.
Ravens are omnivorous and will feed on everything from small mammals to nesting birds, eggs, insects, berries and carrion.
If you truly care for birds then don’t feed them regularly and don’t feed them human foods. Foods like bread, mince meat and seeds are bad for birds. It would be like us living on junk food everyday!

If you simply 'must' feed the birds, and I include all birds here including of course magpies (whom we all love) set up a compost heap or worm farm, add lots of mulch to your garden and water the lawn regularly. Encourage them naturally into your garden. Help our beautiful birds to stay wild and healthy. This is a win, win for every one. Us, and all the birds that inhabit our world.

15/06/2024

27/03/2024

Our Autumn/Winter 2024 Basic Rescue and Transport training dates with regional and metropolitan locations across Victoria will be advertised here in late March.