WIRES offers training for handlers

STARTLED to find a red-bellied black snake in their lounge room, one Maclean resident phoned Clarence Valley WIRES for help recently.

STARTLED to find a red-bellied black snake in their lounge room, one Maclean resident phoned Clarence Valley WIRES for help recently.

A trained reptile handler soon had the unwanted guest safely stowed away in a bag, ready to release in a more suitable location.

The Clarence Valley is rich in fauna of all sorts, from the tiny little wrens to pelicans and wedgetail eagles and emus, tiny lizards to large carpet snakes, mammals of all sorts, hopping, running, gliding and flying, and WIRES has handled just about all of these at one stage or another, says Clarence Valley WIRES volunteer Sandy Webb.

"All WIRES members are trained, with the next Rescue and Immediate Care course for new members being over the weekend of March 22-23 in Grafton," she said.

More specialised training courses are held throughout the year covering the care of particular groups of animals.

All members must be over the age of 18.

If you would like to rescue or care for native wildlife and give them a second chance by rehabilitating and releasing them back to the wild, contact the WIRES rescue hotline [phone], any day to register your interest or for more information.

Bookings are essential.

Our local WIRES

• CLARENCE Valley Branch of Wildlife Information Rescue and Education Service (a volunteer group) has been operating since 1989.
• If a native animal is sick, injured, orphaned, or unable to care for themselves, they are taken into care.
• Unfortunately many animals and birds are so badly injured that they don't make it, but all are assessed by trained volunteers and if possible, they are cared for and released back into their natural habitat when able.
• No animals are kept as pets.

Originally published as WIRES offers training for handlers