World Animal Protection wants to help educate the Southern Highlands community on planning ahead to protect their pets and farm animals, as well as helping injured or displaced wildlife during an emergency.
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In collaboration with experts in veterinary care and animal emergency management, the animal welfare organisation has released free online training available to locals to help prepare for bushfires and protect animals.
The training is best suited to community members who have little to no experience in assisting injured wildlife and want to learn the basics, which includes how to include your pets and farm animals in an emergency plan, and how to respond after a bushfire.
World Animal Protection Australia executive director Simone Clarke said there was an outpouring of compassion for animals during the 2019/2020 summer bushfires.
"Despite this eager support many were unsure how to best help wildlife and protect their pets and farm animals.We know people want to help out on-the-ground, and we hope this training will give them the knowledge to do just that while also building community resilience for future bushfires," she said.
The training will take participants 15 minutes to complete, as they hear from Dr Stephen Van Mil, Founder and CEO of Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital, and Dr Bree Talbot, Foundation Vet at Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital.
This training is made possible by the funds donated to World Animal Protection as part of their international Bushfire Recovery Appeal to support the recovery and rehabilitation of animals impacted by the devastating bushfires in Australia.
The animal welfare organisation is also funding research into animal emergency preparedness and local wildlife groups, and helping to train more vets to get the skills they need to help wildlife and other animals in emergencies.
World Animal Protection has worked actively with governments, communities and individuals in disasters all over the world, protecting animals in over 270 disaster responses, in over 80 countries.
Southern Highlands locals can undertake the training today by visiting www.worldanimalprotection.org.au/bushfiretraining.
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Vera Demertzis
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
