Last week we saw the plight of a poor, wee, very soggy little koala dude in Adelaide, who was dealing with the torrential rain and flash flooding that affected the area by having a little rest on top of a fence post.
Fortunately for that knackered guy, whose name we now know is Jimmy (OF COURSE IT IS), he had local Russell Latter on-hand to help steer him back to the safe confines of a dry treetop.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for all animals caught in severe bad weather conditions.
After his encounter with Jimmy, Latter pondered who else is out there to help wild animals when they need it the most, and the answer was troubling. As it turns out, there’s only one organisation in South Australia that sports a trained Koala Rescue Team that’s available around the clock, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Fauna Rescue of South Australia is a volunteer-run non-profit group that rescues and provides care for sick, injured, orphaned or displaced koalas in the state in both ordinary hours and in times of weather or environment-related crisis.
Having helped out Jimmy and hearing of the group, Latter, being the utter legend that he is, has decided to set up a GoFundMe page to raise some much-needed moolah for the organisation.
Latter is keen to raise somewhere in the vicinity of $50k to help out the organisation; money that will, in his words, help lift the financial burden placed on the shoulders of hard-working volunteers.
“Team members rescue, care for and rehabilitate sick, injured and orphaned Koalas. They are on-call day and night and are people like you and me – juggling this volunteer work around their job and family commitments. There is no time for fundraising to meet the costs of veterinary care, medications, rescue equipment and enclosures for the Koalas in their care.
The Team is also reliant on a small number of Vets who provide no or low-cost treatment however, as there is no 24-Hour wildlife hospital in SA.The financial costs associated with saving South Australia’s Koalas rises into the tens of thousands of dollars each year. Government funding is non existent.The funds raised here will help with costs such as new enclosures, veterinary supplies and equipment, food supplements and formula. Rescue equipment such as carriers, flagging poles and safety equipment are expensive and regularly need replacing.If we all put some money together then the financial burden can be lifted off these hard working volunteers who save the lives of South Australia’s Koalas.”
All the cash raised from the GoFundMe campaign is going straight to the Koala Rescue Team at Fauna Rescue SA.
If you’re interested in throwing in a few spare shackles so some soggy tree doggos can find the dry tree of their dreams, you can get around it via the GoFundMe profile page.
Here’s bloody to ya, Russell Latter. You absolute champion.
Source: GoFundMe.
Photo: Russell Latter/Facebook.
