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Dingoes saved at Bargo amid Green Wattle Creek fire

Volunteers at Bargo Dingo Sanctuary have run a dangerous gauntlet through flames and falling trees to try and save the wild dogs as flames tore through the park.

Treating smoke inhalation: do face masks work?

Volunteers in Bargo have managed to pull off a daring dingo rescue after bushfires ripped through the local sanctuary.

The Green Wattle Creek fire tore through Remembrance Dr around midday on Thursday destroying a number of structures and burning down parts of the volunteer-run Bargo Dingo Sanctuary.

Firefighters had swept through the park earlier in the day opening cages allowing the 32 animals to escape.

Bargo Dingo Sanctuary volunteer Rebecca Bancroft rescued four animals from the bushfires. The dingo’s name is Jarli. Pic Mitchel Van Homrigh
Bargo Dingo Sanctuary volunteer Rebecca Bancroft rescued four animals from the bushfires. The dingo’s name is Jarli. Pic Mitchel Van Homrigh
Fire encroaches the dingo sanctuary at Bargo. Picture: Facebook/
Fire encroaches the dingo sanctuary at Bargo. Picture: Facebook/

Sanctuary volunteer Rebecca Bancroft immediately left her Campbelltown home and drove 40km down the Hume Hwy when she heard the animals may be in danger.

“When I arrived the police did not let me through at first, they said I’d have to walk down as it was too dangerous. I grabbed some leads and ran to the sanctuary,” she told The Daily Telegraph.

“Police changed their mind and another handler who had the same idea picked me up and we drove in. There were flames everywhere it was horrible, trees were falling down. There was smoke.

“We managed to find four dingoes hiding underneath their concrete shelter. We quickly caught them and put them on leads before loading them into the car and taking them away.”

Volunteers managed to locate ten of the dingoes from the sanctuary. many remain at large. Picture: Facebook
Volunteers managed to locate ten of the dingoes from the sanctuary. many remain at large. Picture: Facebook
Bargo Dingo Sanctuary in flames. Volunteers have asked locals to contact them via Facebook if they sight a dingo and they’ll come and collect it. Picture: Facebook
Bargo Dingo Sanctuary in flames. Volunteers have asked locals to contact them via Facebook if they sight a dingo and they’ll come and collect it. Picture: Facebook

Ms Bancroft spoke to The Daily Telegraph just minutes after the daring rescue and she said she was shaking, her heart was racing and that she could barely breathe.

The animals were taken to safety where they will be assessed by a vet. Some of them have minor burns to their paws.

She is hopeful the other Dingos managed to escape the blaze but said it will be years before the sanctuary gets back on its feet.

“The enclosures were destroyed, our shed was destroyed, all the food, all the merchandise, it is all gone,” she said.

“All up I would say it is about $50,000 worth of damages.”

Another volunteer managed to rescue another six Dingos and volunteers will continue searching for the animals.

The roadblock leading to Bargo Dingo Sanctuary. Picture: supplied.
The roadblock leading to Bargo Dingo Sanctuary. Picture: supplied.
The Sanctuary is a registered charity dedicated to the conservation and protecting the genetic integrity of the Australian Native Dingo.
The Sanctuary is a registered charity dedicated to the conservation and protecting the genetic integrity of the Australian Native Dingo.

Bargo Dingo Sanctuary is a registered charity that aims to protect and conserve the Australian Native Dingo. If you sight a dingo in the area, contact the sanctuary .

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Original URL: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/dingoes-saved-at-bargo-amid-green-wattle-creek-fire/news-story/a03031120ded0d3145ade1991a2b069a