Pets and livestock management
Livestock and pets are often impacted by flood and fire events. These impacts can be reduced through careful preparation and planning. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment provides useful resources to assist with this planning, to give domestic animals the best chance of survival during and after a disaster event.
If any livestock have been affected by a fire or other severe event on your property, there will be some important welfare decisions to be made. Allowing animals to suffer after an event is not acceptable. You should always seek the advice of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment or your vet before acting.
Injured and orphaned wildlife
Who do I call if I find sick, injured or orphaned wildlife?
If you find sick, injured or orphaned wildlife following a bushfire, flood, storm or other emergency incident, please contact:
- Bonorong Wildlife Rescue on 0447 264 625 (all hours). Please note, Bonorong Wildlife Rescue is a privately run, volunteer-based rescue service operating Tasmania-wide.
Alternatively, if you are able and it is safe to do so, wildlife may be taken to a veterinary practice.
What can I do to help?
It is in the best interests of the animal for it to be looked after by an experienced wildlife rehabilitator with experience, skills, capacity and appropriate facilities to rehabilitate it for release back into the wild.
These four steps will increase the chances of successful release back into the wild:
- Keep the animal warm, dark and quiet.
- Do not feed it anything (this can do more harm than good).
- Keep handling to a minimum.
- Keep away from people and domestic animals.
For more information, go to the NRE Tasmania webpage on injured and orphaned wildlife.