The Australian bushfires that started in July 2019 and are continuing to burn to this day have killed an estimated 1.2 billion native animals, including the species unique to Australia such as koalas, echidnas, kangaroos, wallabies, wombats and more.
Over 8,400 Koalas have died in NSW alone and the numbers are rising rapidly. We will not know the extent of the destruction until they stop but one thing is certain it will take decades for certain areas to recover, if they ever do. And there are fears that some of the animal species have been eradicated forever.
Australia is the driest continent and fires burn every year, but what’s been especially bad this year is that the fires have been burning through huge areas of forest, reserves and national parks, and not just the usual grasslands. It's been estimated that 10 million hectares have burnt. To put the size into perspective, the whole of England amounts to 13 million hectares. It's possible that the unique wildlife of the Blue Mountains ( West of Sydney) may never recover and over 30% of Kangaroo Island ( a safe haven for Koalas) has been completely burnt out.
The immediate reason for these fires is the drought. Australia has had limited rainfall over the last three years creating a huge fuel load, and compounded by the combustible oil in eucalyptus trees. Drought is a natural periodic condition, but this is now the worst drought on record. Across 2019 and at the beginning of 2020, Australia has broken multiple records with temperatures soaring to 48.9°C and 50.6°C.
I felt so hopeless and helpless and was becoming more and more anxious as the days went by. It was then that I decided to put my energy in to doing something positive to help all the animals. You can imagine how fortunate I felt when Rebecca and Borys from Shanghai restaurants Abbey Road and Geneva agreed to help me host an Australian Bushfire Brunch Appeal late January. The outpouring of concern and support from the wonderful Shanghai community was overwhelming. Together we managed to raise over 20,000 RMB which was then donated to various animal rescue organisations in Australia.
For those reading this I’ve attached a list of animal rescue organisations below. They would all be most grateful for any contribution you might wish to make:
Wires - a wildlife organization in Australia that is rescuing, donating and volunteering to save all types of animals in Australia
Wildlife Warriors - an organisation created by the Irwin family to help rescue and take care of injured animals across Australia
Word Wide Fund for Nature - an international organisation working in wilderness preservation
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