LOCAL KOALAS UNDER THREAT AND WE NEED YOUR HELP
Announcement posted by Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary 08 Feb 2019
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary is asking Gold Coast locals and friends near and far, to help them in their plight to treat, rehabilitate and release the local koalas.
One of our favourite national icons is now officially listed as a ‘vulnerable species’ in Queensland and New South Wales.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary have just launched their ‘Save Me’ campaign and are asking the Gold Coast community to donate to the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital Foundation so they can continue to rescue, treat and help save the koalas.
The ‘Save Me’ campaign is set to spread awareness about the increase in the number of koalas that come into the hospital and are infected with koala chlamydia.
Last year nearly 500 koalas were admitted to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, compared to the 25 that were treated a decade earlier in 2008. Eighty percent of the koalas treated last year were infected with koala chlamydia, a disease that is higly contagious and is often fatal if not treated.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Hospital Senior Veterinarian, Dr Michael Pyne says this is a huge problem. There’s a rapidly increasing number of infected koalas and it is becoming harder to keep up with the number of koala admissions.
“Each sick koala costs approximately $6,000 to treat, rehabilitate and release back to the wild. As well as the exhorbitant cost of this process, extra care has to be taken with the treatment as koala’s are very sensitive to medication.
“Every koala that comes into the hospital must have a general anaesthetic to be able to undergo a full ultra-sound, x-rays, and blood and bone marrow tests to see if they are suffering from the disease,” Dr Pyne said.
With 500 koalas needing treatment per year at a cost of $6000 each, Currumbin Wildlife Hospital is in desperate need of your help. Without more donations, less numbers of koalas will be vaccinated, which presents the risk of the disease spreading more rapidly.
“Every dollar that’s donated will help in our efforts to save these national icons. We are a registered charity so any amount over $2 is tax deductible,” said Dr Pyne.
The team at Currumbin Wildlife Hospital work extremely hard to treat, rehabilitate and release sick, injured or orphaned native animals of all kinds back to the wild and they are hoping the ‘Save Me’ campaign will give locals a better understanding of what they do in particular to help koalas, and showcase how even a small donation will help.
For more information and to make a donation, visit https://shop.currumbinsanctuary.com.au/products/save-me?_ga=2.52401897.1310393755.1548896811-747998640.1540768726.
To view the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital ‘Save Me’ video visit - https://www.dropbox.com/preview/CURRUMBIN_Wild%20Skies/CWHF%20Save%20Me/MicSUBS_002.mp4?role=work
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary have just launched their ‘Save Me’ campaign and are asking the Gold Coast community to donate to the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital Foundation so they can continue to rescue, treat and help save the koalas.
The ‘Save Me’ campaign is set to spread awareness about the increase in the number of koalas that come into the hospital and are infected with koala chlamydia.
Last year nearly 500 koalas were admitted to Currumbin Wildlife Hospital, compared to the 25 that were treated a decade earlier in 2008. Eighty percent of the koalas treated last year were infected with koala chlamydia, a disease that is higly contagious and is often fatal if not treated.
Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary Hospital Senior Veterinarian, Dr Michael Pyne says this is a huge problem. There’s a rapidly increasing number of infected koalas and it is becoming harder to keep up with the number of koala admissions.
“Each sick koala costs approximately $6,000 to treat, rehabilitate and release back to the wild. As well as the exhorbitant cost of this process, extra care has to be taken with the treatment as koala’s are very sensitive to medication.
“Every koala that comes into the hospital must have a general anaesthetic to be able to undergo a full ultra-sound, x-rays, and blood and bone marrow tests to see if they are suffering from the disease,” Dr Pyne said.
With 500 koalas needing treatment per year at a cost of $6000 each, Currumbin Wildlife Hospital is in desperate need of your help. Without more donations, less numbers of koalas will be vaccinated, which presents the risk of the disease spreading more rapidly.
“Every dollar that’s donated will help in our efforts to save these national icons. We are a registered charity so any amount over $2 is tax deductible,” said Dr Pyne.
The team at Currumbin Wildlife Hospital work extremely hard to treat, rehabilitate and release sick, injured or orphaned native animals of all kinds back to the wild and they are hoping the ‘Save Me’ campaign will give locals a better understanding of what they do in particular to help koalas, and showcase how even a small donation will help.
For more information and to make a donation, visit https://shop.currumbinsanctuary.com.au/products/save-me?_ga=2.52401897.1310393755.1548896811-747998640.1540768726.
To view the Currumbin Wildlife Hospital ‘Save Me’ video visit - https://www.dropbox.com/preview/CURRUMBIN_Wild%20Skies/CWHF%20Save%20Me/MicSUBS_002.mp4?role=work