All Animal Rescuers

All Animal Rescuers Volunteer Animal Rescue Service in Melbourne, Australia. paypal.me/allanimalrescuers

08/12/2025

We had two more cases recently of possums caught in possum traps that were left inside them for an extended period of time.

A little ringtail was spotted in a trap ontop of a fence on a private property by a passer-by just before 6pm one night. We assume it had been in there at least from the night prior if not longer. The poor thing was dehydrated and had fly eggs on it with an injury on its nose from trying to escape.

A brushtail possum was spotted in a trap on a suburban roof by a neighbour around 11pm one night. The next morning the resident of the house phoned the pest control company that she had hired to set the trap advising them that a possum had been caught. They told her they were busy at other jobs and would get there later in the day. I arrived around 12.30pm to find the stressed brushy still in the very exposed trap now also with an injured nose from trying to escape. So he had been there for over 12 hours at least.

Note that possums are protected native wildlife. The trapping of ringtail possums is illegal without a permit. Brushtails can be trapped in a trap designed to avoid injury as long as strict guidelines are followed. These include the trap being on a stable level position protected from wind, rain and direct sunlight. The trap must be checked no more than 2 hours after sunrise and if a possum is found inside it must be removed.

NONE of the above guidelines were adhered to. This is especially concerning when we know for a fact that the brushtail was caught in a trap set by a professional pest controller who advertise on their website that "We follow strict government guidelines to ensure possums are handled humanely and relocated safely. Your home is protected without causing harm to the animal."

We were able to rescue both possums who are now with a wildlife carer recovering from their injuries

02/12/2025

We were thrilled to play a small part recently in this Wildlife Vic rescue.

A local power company had removed and replaced a wooden power pole on a very busy intersection, then transported the cut down pole on a truck back to their depot.

At the depot they commenced cutting up the hollow wooden pole to dispose of it only to discover a family of ringtail possums living inside of it (2 adults and 2 babies)!

They did the right thing and called WV for help with a rescuer going to the depot to help retrieve the family of possums from the pole. This took some time as they kept retreating further inside so it had to be carefully cut up further in sections in order to get them out.

Once out I then met the rescuer and transported the possums to the amazing Kay at Wild Days Wildlife Shelter . She assessed them for injuries then placed them into the safety of an enclosure containing a home-made drey where they lived being well cared for as they got used to life sleeping in a drey as opposed to a power pole. Once they were noted to be sleeping each day in the drey, we then went to the next stage of the rescue. Relocating them inside their drey to a safe place close to where they were found.

We carefully assessed maps of the area noting that there was a private golf course very close to the intersection. I contacted them speaking with the Greens Keeper who was very co-operative and more than happy for us to visit the course just before dusk to attach the drey into a suitable tree.

On the agreed afternoon we went there with the possum family inside their drey which was placed inside a pillow case to keep them safely inside. Steff helped me choose the perfect spot to place the drey, climbing a ladder to do so ensuring it was facing the right direction with other trees nearby enabling them to travel across the canopies when searching for food.

Once secured Steff carefully removed the pillowcase and we quietly stepped away. The family continued sleeping!

We have checked in since and they have settled in well in their new home. The lovely Greens Keeper is also keeping an eye on them for us.

Busy Sunday. Native wood duck with broken leg at public park; nestling spotted doves whose parent was killed by a dog...
30/11/2025

Busy Sunday. Native wood duck with broken leg at public park; nestling spotted doves whose parent was killed by a dog; fledgling native bronzewing pigeon with injuries that look like from a cat; injured rainbow lorikeet that had flown into a window; injured tawny frogmouth with broken leg and sore eye.

13/11/2025

These two nestling tawny frogmouths had had their nest blown out of its tree in a bad storm and were found on the ground quite far apart from each other in a backyard.

I made up a replacement nest for them from a hanging basket then headed there to try to help them out.

When I arrived, the residents of the property had gently put the babies together under the tree the nest had fallen from and popped a washing basket over them to keep them safe. As I walked into the yard, the mother tawny was on the ground next to the washing basket checking on her chicks, but then flew up into the tree to keep an eye on what was going on below. Although they are nocturnal birds, due to the stress of the situation with their chicks in danger, the parents were awake and watchful, swooping between two trees ignoring the protests from the local noisy miners and magpies who weren't used to seeing these birds flying around in the daylight.

Using a ladder I placed the makeshift nest up into the tree then went and watched from a distance to ensure that the parents found their babies and were accepting of the nest I had built.

As I watched the mother flew back down to the spot where her babies had been and had a good look around for them, then flew into another tree. She hadn't realised yet that they were in the basket.

After nearly an hour of watching and with day turning to dusk the babies started to get restless and no doubt hungry making small sounds that finally caught the attention of their mother. With one swoop she landed above the nest then hopped down to her little ones whose necks were stretching skyward with mouths open. I left the family to their reunion. Next morning I checked in with the residents who let me know babies were being kept warm by their parents in the nest and all seemed well.

27/10/2025

Saddened to see as I travel around my local area in the lead up to Halloween this Friday, the number of homes that have already put up their decorations (some have been up since the start of October) which include fake cobwebs.

Please stop using fake cobwebs to spook up your home this Halloween because they pose a huge danger to wildlife.

Birds, bats, small animals, insects and bees are often attracted to the decoration and get caught, resulting in injury and/or death.

The webs are often not just contained to the property they are in as can be easily blown around in the wind, then spread around public places such as parks and beaches, where wildlife are drawn to, and because majority aren’t biodegradable, can hang around for months or even years with the danger ongoing.

Birds often use spider silk to build their nests and cannot tell the difference between real and fake webbing. This can result in birds and their young becoming stuck in the fake web.

Please, by all means decorate your home if you wish to join in the fun of Halloween, but please contain the use of fake cobwebs to indoors

I had a call recently from a concerned member of public who had noticed the two fledgling babies of their street's resid...
25/10/2025

I had a call recently from a concerned member of public who had noticed the two fledgling babies of their street's resident magpie pair seemed to be injured. He had observed them limping and struggling as they tried to follow their parents around.

Now this time of year we get many calls about magpies not being able to fly and they turn out to be fledglings that are being happily cared for by their parents as they learn to fly, which usually takes around 2 to 3 weeks for them to be able to do once they leave their nests. As per usual I asked if the magpies' parents were there and was told yes, but there was definately something not quite right with the babies. So I headed straight over.

Upon arriving I immediately saw one of the fledglings who was lying on the grass looking a little lopsided. When its parents came near it stood up and started limping behind them but when they hopped off the curb onto the road to cross it, the baby struggled to hop down then couldnt get back up on the other side. Something was clearly wrong.

I went and picked him up and examined him gently. He really needed to get to a vet asap as from the looks of him he may have been hit by a car, though I couldnt see any blood, but I did suspect a broken bone or more.

I popped him in a carrier and looked around for the other fledgling. When I went around the corner I found it. Sadly deceased on the nature strip. Perhaps they had both been hit by the same car? I hurried to the vet.

The little surviving magpie was xrayed and assessed. Two broken wings and a fractured knee. Were they the result of a motorist mowing him down? No. Metabolic bone disease. He would have to be euthanised.

Metabolic bone disease (MBD) in birds is a painful, degenerative condition caused by a nutritional imbalance, most often from being fed human foods like mince and bread. This leads to soft or brittle bones, fractures, and deformities due to deficiencies in calcium, phosphorus, and Vitamin D3. Human foods (such as mince, bread, and other processed foods like ham) are nutritionally inadequate for magpies. These foods lack the necessary calcium that magpies get from their natural diet of insects, worms, and small animals.
Many human foods, particularly meat, have a high phosphorus content, which interferes with the body's ability to absorb and use calcium.
The problem can even occur if parents are fed human food by people, and they then pass on their poor diet to their young.

So clearly this little family of magpies were being fed by one or more of the people in the neighbourhood who 'loved' them. Sadly they actually killed them with their 'kindness'.

Since this case which was last week, we have also picked up a young currawong found unable to fly and with signs of MBD that ended up passing away before making it to the vet, and yesterday had a report of a very friendly blackbird, also showing symptoms and with what appears to be a broken wing.

Please do not feed wild birds. The best way to prevent MBD is to let them find their own natural food, as they are well-equipped to do so.

Support their natural diet instead. If you want to help, create a habitat that encourages their natural prey. This can be done by planting native plants, providing a water source, and creating safe spaces with mulch and leaf litter to support insect populations.

16/10/2025

That bread you're throwing? It's killing me slowly.
What bread does to ducks:

Causes "angel wing" (permanent wing deformity — I'll never fly again)
Malnutrition (fills me up with zero nutrients)
Pollutes water (causes algae blooms that kill fish)
Attracts rats and disease

"But ducks love bread!"
Kids love candy. Doesn't mean it's good for them.
What you SHOULD feed:

Cracked corn
Oats
Birdseed
Chopped lettuce
Frozen peas

Or better yet: NOTHING. We're wild animals. We know how to eat.
Your "kindness" is crippling an entire generation of ducks.
Stop feeding us bread. Or just stay home.
– 🦆 The Duck With Broken Wings Because of You

16/10/2025

This rescue made our hearts full this week.

A mamma Pacific Black duck had been spotted in a suburban court with 5 one day old ducklings acting stressed near a drain. A passer-by looked down into the drain to see 4 ducklings stuck down there unable to get themselves out. Mamma duck was calling to them in vain but to no avail.

They had no doubt very recently hatched in someone's garden and were now doing the most important and dangerous journey of their lives, walking to the nearest waterway where they will live until they are able to fly. Some ducks will walk up to 5km, the little ducklings keeping up as best they can with their mother with her walking the entire way, crossing roads, trying to avoid dangers such as dogs, humans and predators, to get them there as quickly as she can.

When I arrived a wonderful council worker had just lifted up the grate to free the four little ducklings and they were able to be reunited with their relieved mother. She immediately set off with all of her nine babies as it was now late afternoon and she no doubt wanted to get there before it was dark when other dangers such as foxes and owls would also be about.

Now most ducks do this walk in the early hours of the morning so the fact that it was now nearly dusk made me believe that the poor little ones had been stuck in the drain for most of the day. I checked where the nearest waterway was from the current location and could see they had about a 2km walk ahead of them which included at least 3 busy roads and it was now peak hour with people coming home from work.

They needed an es**rt so I followed them from a distance. At the first main road I stood in the middle of the road stopping traffic to allow them to cross safely. The ducklings appeared to be tired as when mamma stopped briefly on the other side to look around many of them sat down for a rest. She wandered down the road for a bit then went to cross again further down. I stopped traffic for the family again then this time the mother led her babies into the front garden of a house where the little ones all sat down near her appearing exhausted. They had had a big first day of being outside of their eggs! They really needed water and there wasn't any readily available so I decided to give them a little helping hand. I would transport them to the waterway they were clearly headed to as some may not make it there on their own.

So with my trusty net I quickly caught mum, then scooped up the nine ducklings and once all safely in carriers, drove them the 2km to the lake.

Once there I noticed another adult duck who approached us curiously as we walked towards the lake with the quacking carriers. I suspected it was pappa duck, and as the little family rushed from their opened carriers towards the water, he was there in the water to greet his family and guide them along with mamma to get a much needed drink and food and to safety.

12/10/2025

I was called out to a suburban location this morning where a corella had been noticed high up a tree entangled in string by one leg. He had apparently been there since at least yesterday and the nearby residents who spotted him were quite distressed to observe that despite his frantic attempts to bite the string off and free himself, he was just getting more entangled and the string becoming tighter around his foot. His flock were hanging around calling to him and encouraging him to join them, but he just struggled futilely, stuck to the branch.

Upon arriving I assessed immediately that even my 4 metre ladder plus 4 metre extension pole were just not long enough to reach him. I contacted a couple of tree climbers but they were already working, so I then reached out to the amazing crew at the local MFB (Melbourne Metropolitan Fire Brigade) They attended immediately.

Unfortunately their even longer ladder was not quite long enough and access to the tree was impossible to get their truck up near it. It didn't take them long to work out a plan, to climb onto a nearby roof of a house and throw a rope around the branch above the trapped corella. With expertise they did it with the first try, and after some pulling and team work they managed to bring the branch down along with the corella who was quickly secured.

I cut the twine which was wrapped tightly around his leg off and after a check over and some rest he was able to be released back to his impatiently waiting flock.

Thank you to the wonderful local residents who noticed the corella up in the tree and called for help. And an especially big thank you to the crew from Fire Station 31 in Glen Waverly for their amazing Rescue skills.
Fire Rescue Victoria

06/10/2025

It's that time of year again when we implore people to STOP KIDNAPPING BIRDS!!!

Baby birds are leaving their nests (fledging) then most will spend the following 2-3 weeks on the ground as they learn to fly and forage for food with their parents close by looking after them and teaching them.

Their instincts tell them to hide in bushes and low branches that they can reach at night and when their parents fly off for short periods during the day searching for food for them, they usually just wait for their parents in the spot they were left for them to return.

Some people spot the waiting fledgling and approach them, seeing they either can't fly or aren't very good at flying as yet, and 'rescue' them. Taking them away from where they are waiting for their parents, with the parents when they do return, finding them gone and then spend the following hours/days searching for their kidnapped babies.

We have picked up several fledglings (with nothing wrong with them) from one emergency vet just last week. Luckily they had asked for and been provided with the exact addresses of where they were found enabling us to be able to reunite them with their stressed parents.

Here are two of the raven's that were returned to their separate homes over the weekend. Parents were there waiting when I arrived, very happy to see their missing babies.

Note the old wives tale that once a human has touched a bird it's parents won't accept it back is just that. An old wives tale. There is no truth in it and parents will happily accept their babies back 99% of the time

Address

Nunawading, VIC

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 11:45pm
Tuesday 7am - 11:45pm
Wednesday 7am - 11:45pm
Thursday 7am - 11:45pm
Friday 7am - 11:45pm
Saturday 7am - 11:45pm
Sunday 7am - 11:45pm

Telephone

+61414662323

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