AUSTRALIA NEEDS US
Australia is on fire. Actually, literally on fire. Australia has an annual bush fire season where natural wildfires do occur. This year the bush fires are worse than they have ever been. Australia has been facing a severe heat wave and drought which is causing the fires to spread and worsen. Climate change has also been said to have an impact on the fires.
24 deaths have been reported and 1,300 homes have been destroyed. Almost a third of all koalas have been killed and their habitats have been burnt down. Roughly half a BILLION animals have been killed all together.
Being on the opposite side of the world from this tragedy is devestating. We want to help. We are donating $5 from every Be Kind flannel and $2 from every hat sold to the Wires Animal Organization.
"In WIRES history we have never seen a concurrent series of emergencies events like those that began in November. Hundreds of fires over weeks have burnt over 4.9 million hectares of land in NSW alone. Many animals were already struggling with a lack of water and food due to the drought. With the fires destroying unprecedented amounts of habitat, food shortages have increased and lack of suitable habitat will be a significant long-term challenge for surviving wildlife.
It is impossible to know how many animals have perished and it will be many months before the impact on wild populations can be better understood but ecologists at Sydney University have estimated over 800 million animals have been affected in Australia since September.
Summer is a frantically busy time for wildlife rescue and there are still over 100 fires burning in NSW. In December alone there were over 20,000 calls to WIRES 1300 line, a 14% increase on last year, and volunteers attended over 3,300 rescues."
-Wires Animal Organization
You can also donate directly to the Wires Organization if that is better suited for you. Any dollar helps, help us help them!