Wildlife hospital gives hope

By Tania Martin
HEALESVILLE Sanctuary has agreed to help set-up a proposed $10 million wildlife hospital in the Dandenong Ranges.
La Trobe MP Jason Wood is calling for a wildlife hospital to be built in the hills and will work with local carers and Healesville Sanctuary to establish the hospital.
He proposes that a state-of-the-art 24-hour wildlife hospital be built in the Dandenong Ranges, which would be staffed by full-time veterinarians and nurses, equipped with an operating theatre, animal shelter and emergency vehicles.
Healesville Sanctuary director John Gibbons said the sanctuary was happy to help plan the hospital.
“Healesville Sanctuary has a long and strong background in wildlife veterinary care and we are happy to be a source of information and advice in the area of wildlife care and rehabilitation.
Mr Wood said he hoped that the hospital could be set up somewhere near the base of the Dandenong Ranges National Park in Ferntree Gully.
Mr Wood said it amazed him that wildlife welfare is run almost entirely by a small network of dedicated volunteers.
“These people do an amazing job and I believe a 24-hour wildlife hospital is badly needed in the Dandenong Ranges to help ease the burden on these volunteers and better care for our native wildlife,” he said.
Tina Hudson-Davies of Shangri-La Wildlife Shelter in Macclesfield said a hospital was desperately needed in the hills.
Mrs Hudson-Davies said being able to get an animal medical attention straight away would stop them from suffering.
She said in most cases when animals are picked up at night they need attention straight away, but they have to wait until morning when they can be taken to Healesville Sanctuary.
“A lot of them don’t even make it overnight and they have to suffer in pain because we can’t get them any attention,” Mrs Hudson-Davies said.
“If we had a hospital the animals wouldn’t have to suffer because if they can’t be saved, they would be euthanased straight away instead of suffering all night in pain before being attended to.”
Mrs Hudson-Davies said Shangri-La looks after at least 30 injured animals a month from kangaroos, wallabies, possums, and birds to bats.
But she said the sad thing was that she is yet to save an adult kangaroo that has been hit by a car. Mrs Hudson-Davies said in most cases joeys survive because their mother takes the brunt of the car in an accident.
She said if a hospital were opened in the Dandenong Ranges it would give the adult kangaroos more of a fighting chance of survival.
“I wish I could just save one adult roo that has been hit by a car and this (the hospital) could give us the chance to do that.”
Mr Wood is now calling for support and feedback from people so he can call on the Federal Government to fund the project.