Heartbreaking photos of animals' bushfire injuries – and how you can help
Heartbreaking photos have shown the devastating toll catastrophic bushfires are having on all kinds of wildlife that previously called the thousands of hectares of singed land home.
In a post from FAWNA NSW inc on the NSW Mid North coast to Facebook, a brush-tailed possum was shown with burned feet and missing toenails from being caught in a bushfire.
Sadly the small animal had to be euthanised due to the severity of injuries it sustained, according to the post.
A joey was also shown with its legs wrapped up in bandages, but was expected to recover.
The post acknowledged widespread coverage of injured koalas being rescued from burned land, and urged people to consider all the other types of wildlife whose habitats were also destroyed.
“A lot of publicity has gone out about the koalas on the Mid North Coast but FAWNA is the group responsible for dealing with all other species and could do with cash donations to help secure targeted veterinary burn supplies to treat fire victims and wildlife food,” the post read.
“It's important that we get as many animals into our care so that we can raise them up to go back into the areas they came from so they can start repopulating the area.”
The organisation established a fundraising campaign named Food4Wildlife to “aid in keeping wildlife fed and watered until the bushland has had time to regenerate and support them again”.
Members of the public were urged to contact FAWNA is they encountered sick or injured wildlife.
“And if you know of anyone that might be holding an animal and aren't FAWNA members please ask them to hand it over to us, we need to know that they are being cared for properly,” it added.
Since announcing the launch of the campaign last Friday, the organisation said it had received many generous offers of supplies and donations.
“We have received terrific supplies of veterinary materials for treating burned wildlife and our volunteers are managing the workload with support from our region’s wonderful vets.”
The number of NSW homes lost to bushfires this season has passed 600 as crews continue to battle 50 blazes across the state which have again blanketed Sydney in smoke.
An emergency warning for an out-of-control bushfire was issued on Thursday afternoon for a blaze burning between Bora Ridge and Whiporie on the state's north coast.
It has so far burned 34,000 hectares and is spreading towards Whiporie, Camira, Tullymorgan and Jacky Bulbin Flat, the NSW Rural Fire Service says.
The service on Thursday revealed 612 homes have been destroyed to date. The fires have also claimed six lives this bushfire season.
Some 503 homes have been destroyed in the past fortnight while 178 have been damaged.
In the same time period, 1300 outbuildings have been damaged or destroyed.
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