We need your voice: Stronger laws for wildlife!

The joint report has exposed the shocking scale of wildlife being killed every year in Australia from deforestation.

In the five years from 2016/17 to 2020/21, a substantial area of 2.4 million hectares of forest and woodland habitats, either mature or advanced regrowth, was bulldozed or cleared wholly or partly in Queensland and New South Wales. The bushland being cleared is rich in native animal life, with many species already listed as threatened like Koalas, Gliders and many bird and reptile species.

In Queensland 82% of clearing in 2020-21 was exempt from the law. Laws that regulate clearing of native vegetation have many exemptions and loopholes and, in any case, have no regard to wild animal welfare. In Queensland and NSW, most clearing of regulated vegetation is conducted without departmental assessment or permission if certain clearing codes of practice are followed and notification is given. Surveys for wildlife or actions necessary to prevent injury or suffering of wildlife are not included in such codes.

Right now, there is something you can do to help protect our endangered koalas and precious wildlife.

We're calling on the Queensland Government to introduce stronger laws and end wildlife suffering.

Lend your voice to our call for stronger protection for wildlife habitat!

At RSPCA Queensland, we treat over 24,000 sick and injured native animals every year at our Wildlife Hospital. Their rescue, veterinary care and rehabilitation is critical to help them get a second chance in the wild. But we need more funding to continue to provide this critical service.

Deforestation doesn't just remove valuable Koala habitat. In our urban and peri-urban environments, deforestation leads to fragmentation of forests resulting in continual death and injury of koalas as they spend more time on the ground travelling between remaining habitat patches. Koalas like Thor (pictured) who was hit by a car and required extensive surgery and rehabilitation.

Habitat fragmentation exposes our wildlife to dog attacks, vehicle collisions and stress which causes disease. Koalas that are stressed have reduced immunity and are more likely to contract chlamydiosis, which causes great suffering.

Southeast Queensland is one of Australia's fastest-growing regions and our population is projected to reach around six million by 2046, increasing the demand for land to accommodate the rapidly expanding population and industries.

This growing demand poses a significant challenge to the preservation of koala habitat in the future. 

We need major changes in policy to reduce the suffering and wildlife deaths:

• To prohibit or prevent most bushland habitat destruction, especially in areas that remain largely unfragmented;
• To support research to better quantify and understand the impacts of deforestation on forest dependent wildlife, including directly and indirectly impacted individuals;
• To mitigate welfare impacts of any bushland destruction that is allowed through pre-clearing surveys and rehoming of displaced animals;
• To ensure destroyed habitat areas are replaced or offset by restored habitat of the same type and quality;
• To take steps in already developed areas to reduce the ongoing hazards to wildlife from human activities by, for example, establishing wildlife corridors between fragmented areas of previously intact habitat, wildlife bridges over roadways, and stronger controls over human activities within wild habitats;
• To enhance public education about the impacts of deforestation on native animal welfare; and
• To support collaborations between veterinarians, wildlife rescue and conservation organisations, focussing on areas with heavy current deforestation rates or high potential future deforestation risk.

Lend your voice to our call for stronger laws for wildlife!

Right now, planning is underway for a new purpose-built Wildlife Hospital and Centre of Excellence situated in Redland City.

The new facility will help in protecting and preserving our wild animals in Southeast Queensland and feature cutting-edge technology, international best practices, and enhanced abilities to care for and rehabilitate wildlife, along with wildlife education and research onsite. You can help our vision become a reality by donating today. Learn more here.

There are steps you can take today to help the wildlife in your local area and live harmoniously alongside our native animals.

Drive safe
Do you know when wildlife are most active on the road and what to do if you hit an animal while driving? Read our tips on how to avoid wildlife while driving here.

Call 1300 ANIMAL
If you find injured or sick wildlife, contact the RSPCA’s Animal Emergency Hotline 1300 ANIMAL (264 625). If you can, safely transport the animal to your nearest vet.

Tip: Some animals may be too large, flighty or aggressive to transport yourself, so call the RSPCA or your nearest wildlife carer to assist in animal rescues. Also remember never handle flying foxes yourself!

Keep a wildlife rescue kit in your car
Small animals can be easily transported to your nearest vet if you have the right equipment in your car. Read what you should keep in your car as a wildlife rescue kit to help animals in need.

Pouch check
Seeing deceased animals on our roadside or accidentally hitting them with your car can be distressing, but did you know that if you pouch check a deceased roo, possum or even an echidna, you could find young on board that still need help? Read how to safely pouch check wildlife for babies on board.

Make a possum box!
Habitat fragmentation can result in possums seeking refuge in your roof, sheds or even in your gutters! Did you know that you can install a possum box in a nearby tree at your place to encourage possums to roost away from your home? Learn how to make your own possum box.

Don’t be a baby bird napper!
Spring means more baby birds are learning to fly. Here are our top tips to identify if the baby bird needs rescuing, or if their parents are nearby and you can help reunite them. We also have information about how to construct a baby bird bucket to help parents return to their young.

Swooping birds
Do you live in an area with swooping magpies or plovers? While they may seem like a nuisance, they’re just protecting their young during breeding season. We’ve compiled some tips on how to stay safe around swooping birds.