The NSW Government is delivering on its commitment to the koalas of south-western Sydney with $4.5 million in new funding to establish a koala care centre in the Macarthur region and $500,000 to support volunteer rehabilitators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The investment will boost the availability of expert help for injured and sick koalas in the region, which is home to a thriving koala population.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The koala care centre will be part of the Wildlife Health and Conservation Hospital on the Camden campus of the University of Sydney\u2019s School of Veterinary Science. This facility treats the majority of koalas which come into care in the Macarthur region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Those koalas include Mack and Gage, who are today being released back into the wild at Wedderburn in south-west Sydney after being treated and cared for by staff and volunteers from the Wildlife Health and Conservation Hospital and WIRES.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mack and Gage will be observed for a week in a small area of bushland to ensure they are climbing trees properly. Then they\u2019ll receive the green light to roam further afield.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new funding will expand the hospital\u2019s capacity to support koala rescue, rehabilitation and conservation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The facility will also benefit wildlife rehabilitation across the region with on-call vet care and advice, and access to facilities such as pre-release enclosures, upgraded clinical equipment and biosecurity seclusion areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The $500,000 to support the region\u2019s dedicated wildlife rehabilitators will be available via a grant program. The funding will support volunteers to continue their invaluable work rescuing and rehabilitating koalas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This $5 million investment complements previous commitments to safeguard the region\u2019s koalas, including habitat protection, koala friendly crossings and vehicle strike mitigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new koala care centre funding is in addition to the allocation of $3.5 million to support regional wildlife hospitals in other parts of NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Further information about Mack and Gage:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Orphaned female joey Macklin was found with her mother at the base of a tree in Holsworthy in July 2023. Both were taken to the Wildlife Health and Conservation Hospital for assessment, but the mother couldn\u2019t be saved. Mack went into care with WIRES weighing just 555 grams. Minister for the Environment Penny Sharpe visited Mack at the Wildlife Health and Conservation Hospital in September 2023 (photo in linked Dropbox).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Orphaned male joey Gage came into care in October 2023 after his mother was hit and killed by a vehicle at Holsworthy. He weighed 985 grams when taken into care by WIRES.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since being weaned, both Mack and Gage have been learning to climb and getting ready for release.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Climate Change and the Environment Penny Sharpe said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have seen first-hand the important work carried out by the passionate and dedicated team at the Wildlife Health and Conservation Hospital, and I\u2019m thrilled this funding will allow them to care for more koalas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI met little Mack at the Wildlife Health and Conservation Hospital in September when she was newly orphaned and being cared for by the excellent WIRES team. It\u2019s wonderful to see her strong and healthy as she returns to the wild.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe NSW Government is committed to ensuring the survival of koalas like Mack and Gage in the wild, and the koala care centre will help through rescue, rehabilitation and eventual release. The region\u2019s wildlife carers are essential, and this grant will support their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSafeguarding these koalas is vital. We want future generations to be able to step into bushland in south western Sydney and see koalas in the wild.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Member for Campbelltown Greg Warren said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis $4.5 million koala care centre will benefit both the region\u2019s wildlife and our passionate and dedicated carers, with the help, care and expertise it will offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe community is grateful to the region\u2019s wildlife volunteers who care so deeply for these special animals and the new south-west Sydney grants program will offer additional support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are proud to be home to a thriving koala population.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The NSW Government is delivering on its commitment to the koalas of south-western Sydney with $4.5 million in new funding to establish a koala care centre in the Macarthur region and $500,000 to support volunteer rehabilitators. The investment will boost the availability of expert help for injured and sick koalas in the region, which is … Continue reading “$5 million to care for koalas in Sydney\u2019s South West”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26336"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26336\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26337,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26336\/revisions\/26337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}