Fully Fledged

It’s almost that time of year when baby birds will be out of their nests and learning how to fly. Here’s what to do if you spot a baby bird on the ground:

Firstly, is the bird a nestling or a fledgling? 

Nestlings may not be fully feathered and are not ready to learn to fly. They may have accidently been knocked or blown out of their nest. They need to be lifted off the ground out of harm’s way and placed in a temporary nest like an ice cream container. The little bird’s parents should be nearby, but if the baby is left alone for a full day, please bring the bird to RSPCA.

Magpie nestling

If the bird is a fledgling, he will be able to stand up. He may be very wobbly, but he will be trying his hardest! This is the easiest way to tell the difference between a nestling and a fledgling. The fledgling’s parents should be nearby watching over him or getting food for him.

Magpie fledgling

 

If the fledgling is in immediate danger from pets or children you can lift him off the ground into a temporary nest, otherwise you can leave him where he is. If you don’t see his parents return within a day you can bring him to RSPCA. If you try to pick him up and larger birds start swooping you, pop him back on the ground, because it is most likely his parents letting you know they are there.

If any bird is obviously injured, pick him up and bring him to RSPCA straight away. When he is healed we will release him where you found him.

Please try your hardest to ensure that baby birds remain with their parents, as they can teach them the life skills they need to grow and flourish in the wild. Humans simply can’t offer this kind of guidance!

If you have any questions about the welfare of a native animal you can contact us during business hours seven days a week on 6287 8100 or after hours (wildlife only) on 0413 495 031.

You can learn more about wildlife first aid here.

Nest Intentions

The sun is shining, trees are budding, blossoms are blooming, and rogue magpies have started swooping!

Magpies swoop during breeding season because they are trying to protect their nests, eggs or young from intruders. This behaviour is completely natural and only lasts for a few weeks.

There are a number of measures you can take to protect yourself, your children and your pets from swooping birds. Please visit the Territory and Municipal Services website for more information.

It is extremely important that you do not pick up a fledgling magpie (one who has just left the nest) unless they are obviously injured or in imminent danger. These babies are learning to fly and their parents are usually nearby watching over them.

Not all magpies will swoop. Harassment by humans causes some magpies to start swooping, so please do not chase them or throw things at them. Please remember that magpies, like most native animals, are protected in the ACT. 

If you are concerned by a magpie that appears particularly aggressive, or would like a warning sign erected in your neighbourhood, please contact the ACT Parks and Conservation Service on 13 22 81.

Devoted to Dooley

Dooley the four year old Kelpie cross first came to us for emergency boarding when his beloved owner was hospitalised. Without his owner having a support network, RSPCA ACT stepped in and helped Dooley in his time of crisis. 

Dooley’s owner had been present at his birth, and had saved the little pup’s life after complications arose. They had an incredible bond, and without our help, his owner would have been forced to surrender him upon entering hospital.

RSPCA ACT inspectors regularly took Dooley to visit his owner at the hospital, and these visits were incredibly special. If you have a pet, you will know what sort of effect their presence can have when you are unwell or alone.

We had every intention of reuniting Dooley with his owner once he was well. Unfortunately things took a turn for the worse, and Dooley's owner passed away after a long illness.

Dooley was adopted in June, a very long time after entering our care. All the staff at RSPCA ACT will miss him, but we are so happy that he has found his new forever home.

RSPCA ACT offers a range of holistic programs and by helping animals, we are helping people in times of crisis. Help us help them by donating to our pet support program https://www.thankq.net.au/donate/V227/Donate1.aspx?ref=4876565676083828&pid=6

Give me shelter

Animals come to RSPCA for many reasons, and one of the saddest reasons is that an animal needs to take refuge with us to escape a violent household.

A study* conducted by Monash University in 2008 revealed shocking figures in relation to domestic violence and animal abuse including: 

•  1 in 3 women delayed leaving a violent domestic situation for fear that their pets would be harmed
• 53% of women in violent relationships reported that their pets had also been abused
• Children were witness to the abuse in 29% of cases
• Pets were killed in 17% of households where there is family violence

It can be extremely difficult for those wishing to escape a violent household to actually leave, as refuges and hotels do not accept animals. Victims of abuse are faced with the heartbreaking decision to remain in the situation and continue to suffer, or leave their beloved pets behind and in mortal danger.

RSPCA ACT has a program in place called Pet Support. In desperate situations we remove the animals from the household to allow those suffering from domestic violence the freedom to escape - to start again. We care for these animals and keep them safe until their family is back on their feet and ready to welcome their pets back into their home. 

Treasured pets can sometimes be the glue that holds a family together. In times of upheaval their very presence can provide love, comfort and security for adults and children alike.

We believe that like humans, animals should be able to access a safe bed and afforded the opportunity to escape abuse. We provide the love and care that an animal needs while they are away from their family. We support victims of domestic violence by keeping their loved one safe.

Please donate to our Pet Support program today to ensure we can continue to provide refuge for those in need.

*Volant, A. M., Johnson, J. A.,Gullone, E., Coleman, G. J. (2008). The relationship between domestic violence and animal abuse: An Australian study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23, 1277-1295.

It's a wrap - Million Paws Walk 2012

Thank you Canberra! What a fantastic turnout to Million Paws Walk 2012. The weather was spectacular, the coffee was hot, and the dogs were all extremely cute and very well behaved.

Did you know that while you were enjoying a day out with your family and your pooch, you helped RSPCA ACT raise $200,000? WOW! If the animals in our care could speak, we know that they would thank you from the bottom of their hearts.

We strive to make the event bigger and better each year and we welcome feedback about your experience on the day. Leave your comments below or email rspca@rspca-act.org.au

WIN News and the ABC captured some great footage on the day. Did you make an appearance?



Thank you again to all of our supporters and sponsors. We look forward to doing it all again next year!

Forever together

Martin required urgent hospitalisation and was faced with surrendering his dog Poppy, an 11 year old terrier. Poppy had been with Martin since she was a pup. She was his constant, and sometimes only, companion. Poppy knew no other home than Martin’s, and as they spent almost every minute of each day together, she pined for him when he was not around.

Martin was a pensioner and could not afford to board Poppy in a commercial kennel for the duration of his expected stay in hospital. He had no family nearby and few friends. Due to poor health and a disability, Martin found himself socially isolated with little support.

It is often people in Martin’s situation, the vulnerable members of our community, who rely most heavily on their animals for companionship and support. These animals are often extremely devoted, able to spend all of their waking moments with their owner.

The benefits of pet ownership in general are widely known, but the benefits for socially isolated individuals cannot be underestimated. A pet can literally be their whole life.

At RSPCA ACT we do not believe that a treasured pet should be forced from their loving home simply because circumstances have changed temporarily for their owner. We offer emergency boarding for pets of people such as Martin. We feed, groom, exercise, cuddle and provide veterinary care for them while they are separated from their owner. We also take them to hospital for visits while the owner is recuperating. It is hard to describe the joy that our staff see in both the owner and their animal while they are briefly reunited. We care for their beloved pet so that they can be reunited permanently when they are able.

How do we fund this type of work? Events like Million Paws Walk see funds raised to help all sorts of animals, from those who are looking for a new home, to those who already have a loving home but are going through a rough patch.

Register to walk today and help us keep families together http://act.millionpawswalk.com.au/

Killing with kindness

Canberra truly is the Bush Capital, with an enormous range of native animals on our doorstep. We have a vast range of birdlife, from small finches to majestic wedge tailed eagles, and observing them in our backyards and our parks is a pleasure that most Canberran’s can enjoy on a daily basis.

Unfortunately, many residents try to attract native birds to their yard by providing food or setting up feeding stations. This kind of interaction with wildlife can prove deadly to the animal in more ways than one:

• Animals may come to rely on your unnatural food source, and therefore lose the ability to forage on their own

• Large flocks of birds will gather to feed and birds like cockatoos can be quite destructive and disruptive

• Feeding stations can quickly become breeding grounds for disease

All types of parrots including galahs, rosellas, corellas, and cockatoos can be affected by psittacine beak and feather disease (PBFD).

Psittacine beak and feather disease is a debilitating disease. It is highly contagious and can be spread through feather dust and faeces. It is comparable to the human AIDS virus as it suppresses the immune system. The disease fighting ability of the birds is compromised and any small illness could prove fatal.

The side effects of PBFD include deformed feather growth which leads to baldness, and beak and nail overgrowth. The beak of a diseased bird can grow so long that the bird can no longer feed itself, meaning that it will eventually starve to death.

Birds may exhibit some or all of the symptoms of PBFD such as baldness, overgrown beak, severe weight loss, and the inability to fly. At the point where the birds are no longer able to fly, the disease has completely taken over and starvation is likely to follow shortly afterward. At this point, birds are also very vulnerable to predators.

Please help stop the spread of this terrible disease by ceasing to use feeding stations. Rather than providing food for native birds, instead allow them to exhibit their natural foraging behaviours by planting native plants in your yard.

Another wonderful Spring

Wow, time again to update you on our latest activities and events, and of course, enjoy the experience of another wonderful Spring.

Spring is a fantastic time of year and everyone in Canberra comes out of hibernation, and we enjoy the new blooms and unfortunately at RSPCA we see lots of unwanted litters of kittens arriving at our shelter. We are gearing up for this, and will be running an extensive campaign to encourage desexing and that these neo natal kittens desperately need their mothers, and should remain with their mother for their first vital weeks.

We continue to be busy here with new dogs and cats arriving every day, and many of them have been here for quite a long time. We can do with your help to encourage your friends, family and associates to adopt their new friend from RSPCA, and not only give one of our animals a new home, but also assist us to provide care for the thousands of animals that come to the shelter every year.

As the weather warms we are encouraged by our Inspectors to raise awareness of providing some of the basics for your dog. We need to make sure that all your pets have plenty of large water containers, and our inspectors recommend having multiple sources in case one fails. Too often they see water left in a metal container in the sun, and not only is the bowl hot, but the water evaporates quickly.

They also have a lot of calls from dogs that have accidentally gotten themselves tangled, around objects and bushes in the yard, or inadequate shelter from the sun.  Dogs should not be tied up too closely to the fence line – they can jump and hang themselves.  Dogs do die in hot cars but also can die very quickly if they end up tangled without being able to access water and shelter.     

Enjoy this great weather, and all the fun of Spring, and we will bring you updates on all of the festivities and activities that will occur towards the end of the year, and we hope you will join us.

What a busy year!

It has been a while since we have blogged our readers – so much has kept us busy, but we are back again, and will be keeping you up to date each month so you can enjoy reading about life at RSPCA ACT and the animals and activities that keep us busy every day. Here are a few things that we have been doing and some that are on the horizon.

We had a very successful Million Paws Walk (MPW) with over 12,000 people attending and about 6,000 dogs, and a number of cats and rats. We raised record funds from registrations, sponsors and stalls, and we couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day!

No sooner were we packing up MPW than we started planning and promoting our Cupcake Day – the sweetest event of the year. This is a fun event, where our supporters bake cupcakes and sell them throughout the month to their friends and family. This year we hope to raise over $100K, which equates to 55,000 cupcakes sold. Standby for the update of our achievements, thanks to the support of people just like you.

Our staff have been busy re-homing numerous animals throughout the year. We have had lots of happy outcomes, and continue to encourage the community to adopt rather than shop. There are smiles all round when one of the animals finds their forever family, and it isn’t just the staff and the new owners! Our Wildlife team have had their hands full with a range of species being brought to the shelter, with injuries from car strike or domestic pet attack. We have noticed an increase in Kookaburra’s and Owls and feel this may be due to the increase in rodents in Canberra, and hence an increased food supply. Many local resident are advising us that they are certainly hearing the call of the Kookaburra throughout the day, and feeling a part of our unique bush capital.

Kitten season is again fast approaching, and even out of season we have had a number of litters arriving at the shelter – perhaps the unusual weather conditions have contributed to the change. We recently had three two day old kittens left overnight at the shelter surviving the freezing conditions in a shoe box! One of our staff volunteered to take on the role of foster mother, and has nurtured the little ones to eight weeks old.

They are tiny for their age, but they are doing well, and their “mother” deserves lots of congratulations, and is proud of her tiny charges for being so tough.

We would like to take a moment to thank all of our supporters, volunteers, staff and the community providing us with their time and financial assistance, to allow us to continue to deliver our products and services, and put smiles on so many faces – animals and people.

A look back at 2010

2010 was our busiest year on record.
We supported more animals, investigated more cruelty complaints and supported more families in crisis than ever before. We also remained very active in our push for improved animal welfare legislation in the ACT for companion, production and wild animals.

In total, 8,371 animals were cared for by RSPCA ACT.

We adopted 2214 animals, which represents an increase of three percent from last year.

The most popular breed that came into RSPCA was the Staffy.

We managed 3,224 incoming wild animals. This represents an increase of 10 percent over last year.

We investigated 1,211 complaints made by the public concerning animals in distress.

Your support and dedication have helped save the lives of many animals and we would like to thank you for helping us. We have high aims for 2011 and we hope we can count on your ongoing support again this year.