Compassionate Animal Rescue & Exclusion - CARE

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.

14/03/2024

If you have possums in your roof, you don't have a possum problem, you have a maintenance problem.

Research has shown that very few possums survive relocation. The Deakin research team tracked 64 relocated possums by attaching radio collars to twelve and marking the others with ear tags and reflective tape. After 70 days, only two possums with radio collars were left alive and the bulk of the 64 animals were dead before ten days had passed.

Ecologist, Dr Peter Brown, would like possum translocation to be banned completely. The way we deal with a perceived problem - that of urban possum pests - is inhumane. We need to change the perception of the ‘nuisance’ urban possum.

Often the problems around the suburban house are not caused by possums. 90% of the time, noise in the roof will be a rat, not a possum, several cases of stains on the ceiling said to be caused by possums peeing in the roof have been proved to be storm damage only, occurring when certain weather conditions prevail, and so on. It’s not always that big, bad possum.

Dr Peter Brown would like to see ‘Pest Controllers’ become ‘Wildlife Controllers’, by offering advice and the means for suburban homeowners to possum-proof their homes.

Homeowners need to provide nest-boxes around the garden and then do some management around the home. Put up iron tree guards on precious trees and remove upper canopy branches which connect these trees to others and trees which overhang the house. This will hopefully exclude possum access to the house and roof space.

It’s a matter of learning to live with the possums, not treat them as something awful to get rid of. [Peter Brown]

09/03/2024

I am just someone, I don't have super powers, I CARE!
That's all it takes.

11/02/2024

CAN YOU SPOT THE FROG? 🐸
(It's not in the hessian bag)

While conducting trench inspections is not RIBBETing work, this little striped Marsh Frog was very HOPPY I made the effort!