Wildlife injured by growing development have been given a better chance of recovery after the state government gave $15 million for a new wildlife hospital at Dakabin, just north of Brisbane’s CBD.
The Moreton Bay Wildlife Hospital, and an education hub, will be built on land worth $3 million that was given by Moreton Bay City Council.
State Environment Minister Andrew Powell made the announcement at council’s Leaders’ Forum 2025 held at Eatons Hill today (Friday).
OUR VIDEO: Mayor Peter Flannery explains about the need for the new hospital
“The Moreton Bay Wildlife Hospital will ease pressure on nearby facilities and veterinarians, and help more animals to be rehabilitated and released back into the wild,” says Powell.
He explains the money is being drawn from a $39.6 million funding package for Queensland wildlife hospitals. The new facility is to be operated by the Moreton Bay Wildlife Hospital Foundation.
FASTER CARE FOR WOUNDED WILDLIFE
Mayor Peter Flannery welcomed the news given the pre-Olympic and housing development boom happening around the region.
“We want to be able to accommodate growth for humans, but we also want to protect that environment for our wildlife and our native species particularly.
“Trying to get that balance is difficult; this is part of that solution to provide that support, that care and hopefully get the animals back into the wild once they do have an injury and make sure that we protect our populations,” he says.
“$15m is going to make a huge difference to our wildlife when they have those impacts and collisions with vehicles as our city grows (and so does) interactions with humans,” he says.
“We want to protect the wildlife in our city and to make sure if they do get injured, we’ve got the ability of volunteers to get (them) to care a lot more quicker (meaning a higher survival rate) and ensure our native friends are protected as much as possible.”
Flannery says the hospital is the result of years of work with the foundation; council gave the land in 2023 when it pushed for the project at its last Leaders’ Forum held that same year.
“This new facility will deliver world-class care for our local wildlife, including native species such as koalas, sugar gliders, wallabies and kangaroos,” he says.
“It will mean injured (animals) can be treated locally rather than being driven up to two hours for emergency care at RSPCA in Wacol or Australia Zoo in Beerwah, increasing animal survival rates and easing the workload on local carers and rescuers.”
Moreton Bay is reportedly home to one of the largest koala populations in the state.
The new hospital will not only help injured animals heal but will help educate the public about them and how to care for them.
Hospital Foundation Director Christine West says the news is a significant turning point for wildlife care in the city.
“Finalising this grant means we can now get on with the job of building the hospital our community has been working toward for so long,” she says.
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