Bushfires and Disasters

With the impacts of climate change, the world is entering a new era of more frequent, more severe, and more volatile emergency events. In Australia, this means longer droughts, more intense bushfires, heavier floods, and stronger cyclones as our climate becomes increasingly unstable.  

While these events devastate communities, we cannot forget the animals that also suffer. Heatwaves, violent storms, food shortages, and sudden health crises like paralysis events can be just as deadly, placing immense pressure on already vulnerable populations, and already struggling wildlife carers. Pets and farm animals, too, are always at risk when emergencies strike. 

We urgently need to be better prepared so that when the next crisis comes, we can act swiftly to protect as many animals as possible and give them the chance to survive and recover.

Humane World for Animals’ disaster response program spans a wide range of initiatives, helping communities in Australia and around the world prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. 

Boots on the ground

We have a highly trained team ready to respond to disasters anywhere in Australia and are a registered taskforce in NSW. Our team specializes in wildlife rescue in emergency situations so that we can save animals alongside emergency responders.

Along with building our skills to provide on-ground assistance, we have invested in new technologies to help find and care for animals in emergencies, including a heat-sensing drone and portable treatment tents for triage.

International response 

With our new brand, comes a new world of reach. Our Australian office actively coordinates and works with our disaster response teams globally, building capacity and expanding our expertise. Our global teams travel to countries struck by disaster to help with caring for animals, reuniting pets with their families and coordinating rescue efforts for all kinds of animals.  

Making stakeholders care 

Using research, data and stories from our carers, we are advocating to local, state and federal governments for stronger support for wildlife and their carers in emergencies. In addition, we collaborate with leading scientists to advance regenerative burning practices in forests, and we work with first response organisations and other rescue groups to shape stronger, more coordinated emergency response plans for wildlife. 

We collect data and assess what the gaps are in animal emergency management, presenting them at round tables, conferences and recovery groups and other meetings to ensure wildlife carers and animals are included from the get-go.  

Resourcing and capacity building for carers 

Across Australia, our grants program strengthens the capacity of wildlife rescuers and rehabilitators who dedicate their lives to caring for animals impacted by emergencies. Funding provides essential resourcing so carers can meet both immediate and long-term needs, from emergency response through to rehabilitation and release. We work with our carers to innovate new ways of mitigating their risk or reducing their exposure to emergency events and we monitor the success of them to ensure those learnings aren’t lost. 

By supporting equipment, infrastructure, training and preparedness initiatives, our grants build resilience and sustainability within the wildlife care sector. This ensures that carers have the tools, facilities, and capacity they need to respond effectively to disasters, and to provide the ongoing care injured and orphaned animals require to survive and return to the wild.