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Australian Wildlife

Most veterinarians will look at sick or injured native animals, and are allowed to provide care and hospitality for a time. However they are not obligated to do so, and can refuse treatment, particularly for financial reasons. If a vet does provide treatment for a wild animal, they can only hold the animal while it is under medical care, and it must go to a licensed carer for rehabilitation and release.

In contrast, people with commercial or private licences (such as your local pet shop) can keep some native species. But they can ONLY deal with animals bred legally in captivity. These licence holders are not allowed to keep wild species. They must have receipts stating where they obtained the animals in their care.

BATS AND FLYING FOXES

A recent scare in Australia is the presence of a virus found in the saliva of bats. The Ballina virus is known to cause encephalitis, which can be fatal to infected humans. Bites and scratches from flying foxes and insectivorous bats transmit this virus.

People should avoid handling bats as much as possible until more is known about this virus. If a sick or injured bat is found, the best course of action is to contact Wildline or us. If the bat is alive, place it in a box or pillowcase secured with elastic (DO NOT GET BITTEN!) and contact us. Do not put the bat near an artificial heat source. Bats deliberately decrease their body temperature when they are inactive to conserve energy (torpor). Do not try to feed the bat as this increases the risk of being bitten. If the bat is dead it is still needed for research - place it in a plastic bag in an esky and contact the duty vet at The Victorian Institute of Animal Science (phone 9217 4200)

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