The Hidden Vale Project's research themes are based on developing innovative solutions for wildlife management and conservation. With the unprecedented devastation being faced by our native wildlife as a result of the ongoing bushfire crisis, our research just got even more urgent, and way more important. But the time to act is NOW.
We encourage you to consider supporting our regional Zoo and Aquarium Association (ZAA) who are formally coordinating a phased response for immediate support in bushfire zones and the emerging needs of affected wildlife and also the longer-term requirements of animal and habitat rehabilitation, rewilding and population sustainability.
This approach aims to execute three key phases:
Phase one - placing rescued native animals with appropriate facilities and expert care for treatment, ongoing rehabilitation and preparation to return to the wild.
Phase two – assessing the impacts of drought and bushfires on wildlife and habitat to understand where rehabilitation efforts are most needed.
Phase three – medium and long-term recovery efforts to return healthy animals to regenerated habitats and revive and sustain populations of wildlife in affected areas.
ZAA has mobilised the ZAA Wildlife Conservation Fund (WCF) to attract funding from a broad range of stakeholders, to assist with the following priority areas:
- Rescue and rehabilitation of drought and fire-affected Australian native wildlife with the specific end-goal of returning healthy, rehabilitated animals back to the wild;
- Restoration, rehabilitation and ongoing care and resilience improvement of drought and fire-affected Australian native habitats;
- Science and research geared toward reassessing species status, habitat regeneration and other science-related projects;
- Activities that continue to support or help establish federal and/or state endorsed, targeted breed for release conservation activities.
If you can, please support the ZAA Wildlife Conservation Fund, or donate via the ZAA GoFundMe campaign.
