During a major time of celebration across Christmas and the New Year, the world has also been hit by a major crisis – the fires in Australia.

This has (and will continue to) affect millions of humans. Not just humans, though, but animals and wildlife too. So far, around 15.6 million acres of land has burned. This, therefore, has meant that we have also lost a lot of wildlife. It is estimated that 1.25 billion animals have already lost their lives to this disaster. This devastates us in the VN Recruitment office. We obviously adore animals and care for their health, well-being and conservation.

We have had a few of our lovely RVN’s message us to see whether we can give them any guidance on how to help. We did some research, and here is what we found as ways to help:

  1. If you’re in Australia – volunteer! Various charities are taking on volunteers from the Veterinary profession to help out in anyway they can. For example, the Australian Veterinary Emergency Response Team are taking applications.
  2. There are also more specific hospitals that may need help that you could contact directly, such as the Koala Hospital.
  3. Ask your practice to fundraise/help support with supplies. There is such a demand for supplies in Australia, such as bandages and burn cream, that any help financially or in material form would be highly appreciated
  4. Donate to charities such as WWF, who are both helping with animal care now, but are also planning how to restore wildlife and homes for animals after the fires stop. There are also charities such as the Australia Wildfire Fund and Australian Red Cross.

Through my research, I found an interesting website with quick explanations and demonstrations about how to help different animals in natural disasters: from burn treatment to how to deal with livestock. They have a variety of webinars, that are both extremely interesting and informative, both for in natural disasters as well as day to day Veterinary care.

After the fires are put out, the disaster will still be ongoing, as the loss of wildlife will be significant. By helping charities like WWF, there is light at the end of the tunnel for conservation and recreating homes for the beautiful animals of Australia.

Our thoughts are with everyone affected.

All our love, the VN Recruitment team x