After almost four years of extensive planning, legal and financial hurdles, logistical problems and the resolution of some issues raised by concerned observers, our relocation project has finally started!
Our DES permit allows us to relocate 400 Agile wallabies from the Trinity Beach area to suitable new locations where they will be safe from human interaction and urban development.
A wallaby relocation such as this has never been done before so we have had to “start from scratch”. We have collated scientific research about related projects and taken advice from renowned macropod experts, but many of our procedures have been developed by our own team of long-term, experienced volunteers who have been rescuing, caring for and rehabilitating Agile wallabies over the past several years.
We aim to conduct this relocation project to “best practice” guidelines and hope that our management of the relocation will be viewed as worthy of replication and to a “gold standard” for other groups considering macropod relocation in Australia.
Our Relocation Team of volunteers consists of about 12 TAP Members, Vets, Ecologists and Zoologists with a passion to see this project through to its planned conclusion. They have undertaken comprehensive training to be ready for the early morning sessions of capture and release, and to handle the wallabies in a careful but confident manner. The wallabies’ safety and well-being is our primary objective, and we feel quite sure they are thriving in their new environment.
Our relocation project would not have eventuated without the help of so many individuals and groups:
- The passionate and dedicated volunteers of The Agile Project – Wildlife Rescue
- Our many supporters within our local community
- Our local council and politicians who have helped us along this journey
- Many local businesses who gave financial assistance and services “in kind”
- Anonymous donors, who gave both large and small donations to ensure this
relocation is successful.
The relocation is officially under way, and its progress now depends on the weather and the availability of qualified vets to assist us. We will be posting regular updates on our facebook page: The Agile Project – Wildlife Rescue – so please follow us as we continue our efforts to relocate these gentle creatures to a safer, quieter new home.
