Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital relocating

BYRON Bay Wildlife Hospital is set to move to a new permanent home after its parent organisation, Wildlife Recovery Australia, acquired the Lennox Head General Practice Veterinary Clinic.

The all-species wildlife hospital, which has been operating from a custom-built semi-trailer in the Byron Bay Wildlife Sanctuary car park at Knockrow, will relocate to the bricks-and-mortar premises on August 11.

The move marks a major step forward, providing expanded facilities and greater capacity to care for more sick, injured and orphaned wildlife.

“As demand for our services continues to grow, we’ve simply outgrown our current space,” BBWH general manager of veterinary services Dr Bree Talbot said.

“With increasing wildlife admissions, we are now operating at full capacity. The new fixed location hospital will provide us with the additional room, resources, and infrastructure needed to care for more patients, more effectively, every day.”

The relocation will also allow the hospital’s mobile unit — affectionately known as ‘Matilda’ — to be used for field work, research, community education, and rapid response to wildlife affected by natural disasters.

Established in 2020, Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital provides expert veterinary care free of charge to wildlife rescuers and members of the public who encounter sick, injured or orphaned native animals.

It uses state-of-the-art medical equipment funded by philanthropy, sponsorship, bequests, grants and community fundraising, recently treating its 10,000th patient — a short-beaked echidna found riddled with ticks, broken quills, hair loss and conjunctivitis.

The organisation also runs the Byron Bay Raptor Recovery Centre in Ewingsdale.