WIRES — Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service

WIRES (the Wildlife Information, Rescue and Education Service) has rescued and cared for sick, injured and orphaned native animals since 1985, and describes itself as Australia's largest wildlife rescue organisation. Its mission is to rehabilitate and preserve Australian wildlife and to inspire others to do the same. Over 40 years it reports helping more than 2.2 million native animals, and in the 2025–26 financial year it assisted over 174,000.

At the heart of its work is the Wildlife Rescue Office, which takes calls 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and gives rescue advice and assistance to the public, councils and government agencies. Thousands of WIRES volunteers rescue and care for wildlife across New South Wales, and its Emergency Response Team, with specially equipped vehicles and trained staff, attends urgent call-outs and natural disasters in Greater Sydney, South-East Queensland and Tasmania.

WIRES also runs dedicated wildlife centres, including Mullyang at Fitzroy Falls for raptors (birds of prey), a native animal recovery centre in Randwick, a reptile care centre and a pre-release site in Coffs Harbour. Through its National Wildlife Network it supports other rescue and rehabilitation groups around Australia with grants, food for animals in care, systems, disaster relief and training courses for volunteers and vets, and it runs welfare programmes such as community mange treatment for wombats.

If you find injured or orphaned wildlife, call the WIRES rescue line on 1300 094 737 or use the Report a Rescue form on its website (social media messages are not monitored for rescues). You can support WIRES by volunteering, fundraising or donating; gifts are tax deductible in Australia, and supporters in the UK and US can give tax-effectively through its GlobalGiving page.