• Tam O’Keeffee checks out this monitor lizard, which suffers poor eyesight and needs special care. Native ARC is always looking for more volunteers and donors. Photo by Matthew Dwyer

URBAN sprawl is being blamed for a record 387 injured native animals being admitted to Native ARC last month.

It’s the highest total since the Bibra Lake shelter opened in 1998, says manager Dean Huxley.

“Every year we are getting more and more animals and I believe it’s down to urban sprawl destroying animals’ habitat,” he says.

“These little corridors that animals live in are getting smaller and smaller.

Spring is always a busy time, with young birds leaving the nest and turtles leaving ponds to lay eggs, but Mr Huxely notes October’s intake was 60 per cent higher than last year’s. In just one day, 19 turtles appeared on the doorstep.

“Most injuries are caused by motor vehicles and cat and dog attacks, but we also get sick juvenile animals who are being fed bad diets by people in their garden, and young animals who can’t feed themselves because of a lack of bushland,” Mr Huxley says.

At any one time the centre has up to 200 animals on-site and has a release rate of 55 per cent; sadly, 35 per cent are euthanised within the first 12 hours.

From August to February the centre receives many baby animals, including magpies, ducklings, doves, ravens, possums and kangaroos.

Mr Huxley is the only full-time staffer at the busy centre, a part-timer works a day a week but volunteers do the rest.

“When we first opened we were getting around 40 animals a month, but now we’re into the 200s and above,” he says.

“Our annual intake has doubled since 2009: part of that is down to the fact that we are better known, but I believe urban sprawl is a huge factor.

“Ironically we get a lot of ‘kidnaps’ where people bring in young birds that they think are sick; when they’re actually just learning to fly and feed.”

The non-profit organisation is on Hope Road.

If you want to volunteer or donate, call 9417 7105.

by STEPHEN POLLOCK