Volunteer wildlife carers facing burnout as dedication takes toll

A GENERATIONAL change is needed among the ranks of volunteer wildlife rescuers. And the call is out for more help.

Wildlife carers Helen Round and Manfred Zabinskas with two rescured kangaroos at the Macedon Ranges shelter.Picture: Rob Leeson

A GENERATIONAL change is needed among the ranks of volunteer wildlife rescuers.

That’s the view of leading Macedon Ranges rescuer Manfred Zabinskas, 57, who is seeing burnout take its toll on rescuers.

The thankless task of putting down injured animals such as kangaroos at roadsides, usually by gun shot, is carried out by only a handful of volunteers.

“Not only do we have a yearly reduction in our volunteer numbers from burnout, but many of our committed ones are just getting older,” Mr Zabinskas said.

“Regardless of the barriers we face, we are not going to give up on our animals.”

Training is available for those who would like to help as either a rescuer, licensed foster carer or shelter volunteer, he said.

The chance to revive an animal at a shelter is rare, and two dedicated shelters in the Macedon Ranges have recently closed.

Those that remain open are struggling to cope and desperately need more volunteers. The shelters, like rescuers, are given no funding or financial support.

And proposed state legislation could require rescuers to kill all injured animals they find, a move that would further enrage rescuers.

‘If we weren’t doing it, who would?’

Last week, road strikes data released by one insurance agency revealed Sunbury as the worst postcode in Victoria for claims involving animals being hit. Gisborne was fifth.

“All we believe as rescuers is no animal deserves to suffer,” Mr Zabinskas said.

“The public have an expectation rescuers are going to retrieve a joey out of a pouch and put an animal out of their misery and we have wide support in this part of the world.”

Jade Bennett, 18, has been joining her mother, Rachael, to attend animals hit by cars around greater Bendigo for two years, putting down about 160 animals in the past four months.

Ms Bennett, who plans to study to be a vet nurse or undertake a captive animals course, said the occasional viable rescue made all the euthanising worth it.

“If we weren’t doing it, who would?” she said.

“You just need to see a few pull through and it lifts you up.”

Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network attended 1560 animal incidents in 2017.

CLICK HERE for volunteering information and to support Macedon Ranges Wildlife Network.