Our National Tour has Begun!
This week Wildlife Recovery Australia’s Mobile Wildlife Hospital, Matilda, officially hit the road, powered by our logistics and transport partner UD Trucks Australia.
On World Wildlife Day (3 March), we departed our Lennox Head headquarters for the first stop of the Wildlife Recovery Australia Hospital National Tour in Coffs Harbour. We were incredibly grateful to be seen off by members of the community, generous supporters and sponsors, local media, the Mayor of Byron Shire, Sarah Ndiaye, the Mayor of Ballina Shire, Sharon Cadwallader, and the Member for Ballina, Tamara Smith.
Image: James D. Morgan | Getty Images
On 4 March, we were warmly welcomed by the wonderful team at Coffs Coast Wildlife Sanctuary. Our veterinary team carried out health checks and treatment planning for both sanctuary residents and wildlife currently in care, including a Macquarie turtle, mountain brushtail possum, ringtail possum, green sea turtle, Eastern blue-tongued lizards and a bearded dragon.
It was also a pleasure to meet members of the local community and some enthusiastic young wildlife champions from Coffs Harbour Community Preschool, who joined us to learn about why caring for wildlife matters.
Image: Pete Frare
Today (Friday 6 March) we are in the World Heritage listed Blue Mountains, where Matilda is stationed at Secret Creek Sanctuary providing wildlife in care and connecting with local rescue groups.
Next stop: Southern Highlands
This Sunday 8 March, Matilda will travel to the Southern Highlands, where the team will be working with Southern Highlands Wildlife Sanctuary and local wildlife carers to provide veterinary support and community engagement.
If you’re a wildlife carer with a native animal in care and would like to book it in for treatment at one of our stops, please complete the admission request form here. Once your booking is confirmed, you will receive an admission confirmation to present as your reference on the day.
As part of the National Tour, we are also advocating for a federally funded National Framework for Wildlife Rescue, Treatment and Rehabilitation. We’re pleased to announce that our national petition supporting this framework is now live here, and we invite you to add your voice and help strengthen the case for coordinated wildlife care across Australia.
We want to acknowledge and thank our incredible veterinary team and volunteers who are supporting this national journey. While some of the team are travelling with Matilda, many others are ensuring the day to day operations of Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital continue seamlessly, providing lifesaving care to wildlife every single day.
We are incredibly grateful to everyone who has helped launch this journey especially our sponsors; UD Trucks, Stage and Screen and our fuel partner Ampol. We look forward to sharing more stories from the road as Matilda travels across Australia supporting wildlife and the people who care for them.
Follow the National Tour:
Instagram: @wildliferecoveryau
Facebook: Wildlife Recovery Australia
Upcoming Schedule
Many thanks for following along.
Wildlife Recovery Australia Team