History and Background
WIRES was established in 1985, when an injured ibis was found in Hyde Park, Sydney. No organisation, government or conservation group could be found to take responsibility for its care. Other animal welfare groups, such as the RSPCA, were not experienced with the needs of native animals, while the only suitable government agency, the National Parks and Wildlife Service, did not have the funding and staff levels needed to cope with injured fauna.
A small group of private citizens formed to take on this responsibility and, by learning from one another, built up the knowledge and experience to meet the unique needs of Australian wildlife. The network grew quickly and in 1986 WIRES was officially launched in Sydney. In 1987 it was incorporated as a non-profit organisation.
As at 2010, WIRES has a network of some 2200 volunteer members in 27 branches across NSW. WIRES received around 100,000 phone calls from the public in 2010, and rescued over 50,000 mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. WIRES works closely with veterinarians, zoos, the NPWS and other animal welfare organisations.
Read more about this topic: NSW Wildlife Information Rescue And Education Service
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