Bev’s wildlife rescue & rehab

27/10/2025

23/10/2025

Understanding the Difference Between Wildlife Rescue and Shelters/Carers

At Bannockburn Wildlife Rescue, we are dedicated to helping wildlife in need, but we often receive calls from the public and veterinarians asking if we can take animals into care or if people can volunteer to feed joeys or clean cages.

To clarify, we are purely rescuers and transporters, not a shelter or carers.
Here’s a clear explanation of the difference between wildlife rescue and shelters/carers to help you understand our role and how we operate.

What is a Wildlife Rescue?
A wildlife rescue organization, like Bannockburn Wildlife Rescue, focuses on responding to emergencies involving injured, sick, or orphaned wildlife. Our primary role is to:
- Rescue: Safely retrieve animals in distress, such as those injured by vehicles, attacked by predators, or displaced from their natural habitat. Humanely euthanise macropods onsite when rehabilitation isn't an option.

- Transport: Ensure these animals are quickly and safely transported to appropriate facilities, such as veterinarians or licensed wildlife carers, for treatment or rehabilitation. If you are in a position to transport the animal to the vet yourself, it allows us to prioritise other urgent rescues.

- Assess: Evaluate the animal’s condition on-site to determine the best course of action, whether it’s immediate transport to a vet or coordination with a carer for ongoing rehabilitation.

We operate in the field, acting as the first responders for wildlife in crisis. Our goal is to contain animals and get them to the right place for further care. We do not have the facilities or resources to house or care for animals short and long-term.

What is a Wildlife Shelter or Carer?
A wildlife shelter or carer, on the other hand, is responsible for the short and long-term care and rehabilitation of animals. Their roles include:
- Shelters: These are facilities that house multiple animals, providing enclosures, food, and medical care until the animals are ready for release. Shelters often have staff and volunteers who manage feeding, cleaning, and rehabilitation.
- Carers: Licensed wildlife carers are individuals who take animals into their homes or specialized facilities to provide intensive, hands-on care. This may include feeding joeys, administering medications, or helping animals regain strength for release back into the wild.

Shelters and carers have the infrastructure, training, and permits to care for animals over extended periods, something rescue organizations like ours are not equipped to do.

Why the Confusion?
It’s understandable that the public and even veterinarians might confuse the two roles, as both are driven by a passion for helping wildlife. However, the key differences are:
- Rescuers focus on immediate response and transport, while shelters and carers provide short & long-term care and rehabilitation.
- Rescuers work in the field with minimal equipment, while shelters and carers have dedicated spaces for housing and caring for animals.
- Rescue is often a quick intervention (minutes or hours), whereas care and rehabilitation can last weeks or months.

How You Can Help
If you encounter an injured or distressed animal, here’s how you can support Bannockburn Wildlife Rescue:

1. Contact Us for Rescue: Call us to report wildlife in need, and we’ll respond to rescue and transport the animal to the appropriate care facility.

2. Spread Awareness: Help us educate others about the difference between rescue and care to ensure animals get the right help quickly.

3. Support Licensed Carers or Shelters: If you’re interested in volunteering to feed joeys, clean cages, or provide long-term care, reach out to local wildlife shelters or licensed carers who are equipped for these tasks.

Our Commitment -
At Bannockburn Wildlife Rescue, we are proud to serve as the critical first step in saving wildlife, ensuring animals get the urgent help they need. By working closely with veterinarians and licensed carers, we create a vital link in the chain of wildlife rehabilitation. We are not a shelter, and we do not take animals into short or long-term care, but we are committed to being there when wildlife needs us most.

09/10/2025

How adorable 🥰

20/09/2025

New arrivals
2 baby brushy, 2 ringtails, magpie & a lorikeet who obviously enjoyed its food.

06/08/2025

1st baby of the season and not even spring yet.
He is so adorable.
Put a name suggestion in comments 🩵

16/07/2025

We’ve noticed a recent increase in calls from areas outside our primary service region, such as Geelong and Ballarat. While we deeply appreciate your concern for wildlife, we’d like to clarify a few important points to ensure we can work together effectively to help our furry and feathered friends.

**1. Legal Limitations:**
As wildlife rescuers, we operate under strict legal guidelines. For example, we are *not permitted* to remove or relocate bats and possums unless they are injured. Additionally, we can’t just relocate animals because they inconvenience you—this is not allowed under the law. These restrictions are in place to protect both the animals and the public, and they apply regardless of where a call comes from.

**2. We Are Volunteers:**
Our team consists entirely of dedicated volunteers. We do not receive payment for our services, and each of us balances this vital work with our personal lives and responsibilities. When you reach out, please keep in mind that we’re doing our best within the limits of our availability.

**3. Respect and Understanding:**
Recently, we’ve faced an uptick in rude behavior from some callers, including hang-ups when we can’t assist immediately. This is disheartening and hinders our efforts. Our volunteers are here to help, but we need your cooperation and respect to do so effectively.

**4. A Request for Patience:**
For all callers, please be patient and kind. We are committed to assisting as many animals as possible, but legal, logistical, and resource constraints sometimes limit our immediate ability to respond. If we can’t help right away, it’s not for lack of care—it’s due to these real challenges.

**5. For Callers Outside Our Service Area and Easily Catchable Animals:**
If you’re calling from outside our primary service area, we always strive to refer you to other rescues when possible. For example, if you're down the Surfcoast, we recommend contacting Surfcoast Wildlife Rescue. In other areas where we don’t know of any smaller rescues, we recommend Wildlife Victoria.
Additionally, if you’re able to safely contain a bird by gently throwing a small towel over it and placing it into a box (with a towel on the bottom for grip), then taking it to a local vet, you can save our team an hour to an hour and a half of travel time. This allows us to focus on other urgent rescues. For other easily catchable animals, please consider doing the same.

We will always strive to assist when we can, but your understanding and support make this challenging work sustainable for our volunteers.

Thank you for caring about our wildlife!
Bannockburn Wildlife Rescue Team
0430 212 653

16/07/2025

South Oakleigh Wildlife Shelter has spent the weekend cleaning up after hundreds of dead corellas and pigeons were found outside the Springvale South shopping centre, believed to have been poisoned.