News

02 May 2012

NWC Wildlife Carer Grants

The NSW Wildlife Council is trialling a small grants program to wildife carers licensed in NSW to assist with the purchase of materials to build animal enclosures or equipment needed to rehabilitate native wildlife.

Click below to download the Guidelines and Application Form in Adobe PDF format.

The "Papers" page of the website has been updated with the minutes of the November 2011 NWC meeting.

Website updates- February 2012

The "Papers" page of the website has been updated with the revised NSW Wildlife Council constitution passed in August 2011.

Website updates- October 2011

The "Papers" page of the website has been updated with the October 2011 NWC Newsletter and a copy of the November 2010 newsletter that was missing.

Website updates- September 2011

The "Papers" page of the website has been brought up to date with all minutes available.

2011 AGM- August 2011

The 2011 NSW Wildlife Council AGM was held on Sunday, August 28 2011. Elected positions have been updated on the "Positions" page of this website. Minutes will be available shortly.

Website updates- July 2010

The "Papers" page of the website has been updated with the draft minutes of the seventeenth NWC meeting held in May 2010.

Website updates- May 2010

A letter to Peter Garrett expressing the dismay of the NWC regarding his approval of the Botanic Gardens grey headed flying fox dispersal has been added to the "Papers" page of the website.

A letter from the Royal Botanic Gardens Trust giving notification of the relocation of grey-headed flying foxes from the Sydney RBG has been added to the "Papers" page of the website.

A flyer produced by the Royal Botanic Gardens Trust giving justification for the grey-headed flying fox relocation has been added to the "Papers" page of the website.

Website updates- May 2010

The NWC May newsletter and an NWC press release regarding the Botanic Gardens grey headed flying fox relocation have been added to the "Papers" page of the website.

2009 AGM, March GM and SGM held March 24, 2010

The deferred 2009 Annual General Meeting as well as the regular March General Meeting and a Special General meeting to vote on changes to the NWC constitution were held on March 24, 2010. The draft minutes are on the "Papers" page of the website.

There have been some changes to some of the positions on the NWC Committee. These changes can be seen of the "Positions" page.

Website updates- March 2010

The Draft Code of Practice for Injured, Sick and Orphaned Protected Fauna has been released for comment by the DECCW. A questionnaire is also provided for interested parties to provide comment.

You are invited to provide comments on the Draft Code of Practice for Injured Sick and Orphaned Protected Fauna (the Code). This document was prepared by the NSW Department of Environment, Climate Change and Water (DECCW) in partnership with an advisory group consisting of representatives of the NSW Wildlife Council, the RSPCA and Taronga Conservation Society.

The Code establishes a set of minimum care requirements that will help to ensure the welfare of rescued protected fauna. These requirements will apply to everyone who is authorised to temporarily hold injured, sick and orphaned protected fauna under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.

You may comment on any part of the Code. You may choose to answer the questionnaire overleaf and/or provide a separate submission. Please ensure you complete the personal details section of the questionnaire to assist us in identifying duplicate and spam submissions. Your personal details will not be used for any other purpose and will be kept strictly confidential. Comments on the Code will be reported anonymously and will not identify the submitter’s name or contact details.

Website updates- February 2010

The "Papers" page of the website has been updated with the February 2010 NWC newsletter and the minutes of meeting 11 held in August 2008 which have been recovered.

Website updates- January 2010

The "Papers" page of the website has been updated with the minutes of the NWC Executive meeting held on December 17, 2009.

Website updates- January 2010

The "Papers" page of the website has been updated with a letter from the NWC Chair, Audrey Koosmen to all NWC members.

Minutes number 11 are currently unable to be located due after a computer failure by the then Secretary. If they are found in the future they will be uploaded.

Website updates- December 2009

The "Papers" page of the website has been updated with meeting minutes and other documents. The missing set of minutes, number 11 will be uploaded by the end of December.

The "Positions" page has been updated and the "Decisions" page has been fixed to cure a bug where decisions were not showing when moused-over.

Apologies to all members for the lack of updates, initiatives are being discussed to improve communication between the NSW Wildlife Council and its members.

Conflict Management
The NSW Wildlife Council has been concerned about the level of conflict within the Wildlife Rehabilitation sector, and wants to help people to sort out their differences quickly and effectively. Conflict can not always be avoided, and the issues can be very real, but none of us wants to let our own issues reduce the quality of care that we provide to wildlife.

Consequently the NWC has developed Conflict Management guidelines, specifically tailored to the NSW wildlife rehabilitation sector. It makes use of best practice, and is specific to the laws and disputes resolution processes applicable to incorporated associations in NSW. The final drafts of the document were checked by a Clinical Psychologist to ensure fairness and accuracy.

The document was developed to help groups and individuals, and let them know not only what options are available, but the potential advantages and disadvantages of each option. The NWC encourages all wildlife rehabilitation groups to adopt these guidelines, or to ensure that their own processes cover the same issues effectively.

While we are not in a position to mandate these guidelines, please note that DECC (National Parks and Wildlife Service) will not consider involvement in disputes, if both parties have not attempted to resolve their issues in good faith, according to these guidelines, and can provide documentation to evidence what was attempted and the outcomes. The guidelines can be downloaded from the 'Papers' section of this website.

Code of Ethics
At the June 2007 meeting, the NSW Wildlife Council adopted a code of ethics for wildlife carers. It is based on the code jointly developed by the International Wildlife Rehabilitation Council and the National Wildlife Rehabilitation Association. This helps to align wildlife rehabilitation in NSW with our international counterparts. All members have agreed to be bound by the code. To see a copy of the code of ethics, click HERE

Insurance Cover for Wildlife Groups!
After months of hard work, the NWC has been able to negotiate a public liability and personal accident policy to cover ALL wildlife carers affiliated with this Council (around four thousand carers across NSW).  Council representatives will be informing their members of the details. Affiliated groups are covered by the new policy from August 2006 until May 2007. Even better, National Parks and Wildlife (Dept of Environment & Conservation) is paying our first premium. So affiliated members should arrange to cancel their existing policy, and get a pro-rata rebate on their premiums.  Our thanks to NWC Councilor Stan Wood, and the Department of Environment and Conservation. This will be a huge relief to many associations.

Avian Influenza 
Council is concerned about sorting out the facts from the hype in relation to the Avian Influenza Virus, and its importance for wildlife rehabilitators. At this stage there is no indication that there is any AIV in Australia, although this could change at any time. In the meanwhile it is important that wildlife carers are fastidious in maintaining their hygiene, especially when dealing with birds. This means using gloves and masks. It especially means washing your hands after dealing with each bird, thoroughly cleaning cages and avoiding dust from bird cages.  Observing these normal hygiene practices also helps to protect against a range of problems including Psittacosis. Information papers on the Avian influenza can e downloaded from our 'Papers' page. (Click on 'Papers' in the left hand menu).

The Seven-day Rule
The Council does not agree with the existing NP&W legislation clause, which allows untrained members of the public to hold injured/sick/orphaned wildlife for seven days. There is ample evidence that plainly shows the (sometimes irreparable) damage that can be done in this period of time. The Council has forwarded a submission to Minister for the Environment, the Hon Bob Debus, recommending that the maximum time be substantially reduced. To view a copy of this letter, click on the links to the 'papers' page on the left hand menu.

Australian Wildlife carers on frontline

Without doubt, bio-security is becoming a major concern for Australia.
We have all seen the disasters that have occurred with the outbreaks of diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, Avian Influenza and bovine spongiform encephalopathy (Mad Cow Disease).
These outbreaks can wreak havoc on wildlife, primary industry and threaten the health of individuals.

Every year thousands of birds, such as this Channel-bill Cuckoo (above) and the Dollar-bird (below) migrate into Australia. Many sick birds are not able to complete the arduous flight over, but there is always the very real possibility that our luck may not hold out.

It is believed that if this happens, that wildlife rehabilitators and/or wildlife veterinarians will be the first to come into contact with infected birds.
It may be up to them to recognise symptoms and report them to the appropriate authorities without delay.
It is important for wildlife rehabilitators to be aware of the latest risks, and the process of alerting authorities.

There is more to wildlife rehabilitation than meets the eye.