For all the dogs who've touched our hearts

Anger and kindness: the Australian bush fire crisis

This is a departure from my usual blogs, but I can’t continue to write without acknowledging what's been happening in this beautiful country.

A country in crisis

Australia has been hit by a series of devastating bushfires. As I write more than 25 people have died, 1000’s of homes have been razed and over 100,000 sheep and cows have perished. It is estimated that millions of hectares of bush has burned, along with a billion native animals.

It is terrible, shocking and very hard to write about.

Pain and anger

We don’t know what the future will bring, how people, animals and the country will recover, whether entire species will be lost, if the face of our land is changed forever. We don’t know how and if we can work together to repair the physical and emotional scars.

But we must.

The evidence shows climate change is a fact and attributed to human activity. I believe the Australian government is irresponsible if not immoral in its inaction on this global issue. I believe our Prime Minister personally showed a despairing lack of empathy in the face of human grief and need.

People are understandably angry. Little has been done to prepare for an event like this and the result is devastating.

(Image credit: NASA/GISS)

Acts of kindness

Amongst the anger and destruction are amazing acts of generosity and bravery. People are rescuing and caring for injured wildlife, the Navy set up a loading bay for off leash dogs and their families as they fled Mallacoota, Sikh volunteers have cooked free meals. Celebrities have given huge amounts of money and encouraged others to do the same. There has been a flood of donations and expressions of concern from all over the world while locally, food, clothing and beds are freely offered for the displaced.

Let’s not forget the brave volunteer fire fighters battling without respite and losing their lives.

Ordinary people from all walks of life, ages, and beliefs are offering support, money and care; selflessly working together.

Moving forward

The future is in our hands, it’s up to us to decide how we move forward. One thing this crisis has shown us is that kindness comes in many forms. It doesn’t have to be showy; the littlest acts can make a big difference.

It doesn’t matter what side of politics you are on, let’s embrace the spirit of kindness and generosity that ordinary people have demonstrated. Let’s pull together to create change and repair the damage, let’s work to leave the anger behind.

We don't yet know the full extent of damage to our native animal populations

Links to further reading, resources and research

What we can do to help with the bushfires

Together Rising, “Together Rising transforms our collective heartbreak into effective action. Every penny Together Rising receives from your personal donation goes directly to serve people in crisis.”

Animal Rescue Craft Guild, Facebook Page dedicated to making pouches for rescued Aussie animals

WWF The Koala Crisis: “We have launched a global Australian Wildlife and Nature Recovery Fund to supply urgent care to wildlife organisations. Will you help before it’s too late?”

Bushfire relief: How you can help frontline services and what actions hinder efforts, ABC News

Raymond Island Koala and Wildlife Shelter I have friends who live on Raymond Island and who help care for these Koalas.

January 11th 2020

“The shelter has been impacted by bushfire at our new location in Waterholes. We have saved our home and the shelter but heavily burnt out all around. We evacuated all animals in care just before Christmas and are just starting to return. The property is an oasis for the Wildlife with an abundance of food and shelter with lots of unburnt habitat. We have a lot of work ahead looking after orphans from the fires with 2 more baby Koalas coming into care this week. We are busy putting out feed and water for the bushfire and drought affected Wildlife and will be for a long time.
We will be taking burns victims once we are back and settled . 4 babies were moved back today but still have 27 other animals to move.