Special Issue "Impacts of Natural and Man-Made Disasters on Wildlife: Planning, Protection and Outcomes"
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Welfare".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.
Special Issue Editor
2. Veterinary Director Animals Australia, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Interests: animal welfare; ethics, regulatory process; one health; climate crisis; Australian wildlife; conservation
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The Australian bushfires of 2019-20 razed huge tracts of land, killed more than 30 people, and destroyed some 6000 homes. It has also been conservatively estimated that 1 billion native animals were lost including threatened and iconic species, with this figure excluding invertebrates.
While all these losses were deeply shocking to the Australian psyche and to people worldwide, media images of injured, burnt wildlife has led to a major shift in how many Australians view wild animals. There was anger and shock that, unlike livestock, there was largely an absence of plans and sufficient resourcing to deal with the suffering of wildlife. Only one Australian jurisdiction, South Australia, has a state emergency response that incorporates a formal veterinary response plan that includes wildlife, and that was activated in the recent megafires.
The gap between the conservation of animals at a species level, and individual animal welfare has never been clearer. Given the predicted increase in frequency and severity of extreme weather events and natural hazards due to climate change, and Environmental pollution is becoming more and more serious, a more integrated multi-disciplinary approach is urgently needed.
The aim of this Special Edition is to help bridge this gap by building on the existing animals in emergencies’ literature, but with a strong collaborative focus. We welcome manuscripts from multidisciplinary fields including veterinary science, conservation biology, human psychology, and occupational health and safety. We especially invite researchers, clinicians, emergency managers and others who Engaged in animal protection, behavioral research to submit their learnings from the field.
Dr. Jennifer Hood
Guest Editor
Keywords
- Wildlife
- Bushfires
- Emergency response
- Conservation
- Animal welfare
- Threatened species
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: The length of time Australian wildlife survive without human intervention after fire
Authors: Rachel Westcott
Affiliation: South Australian Veterinary Emergency Management (SAVEM) Inc.
Title: A review of the clinical management of burns in macropods during the Australian bushfires in NSW
Authors: Catherine Schuetze
Affiliation: The University of Sydney, Australia
Title: Zoos Victoria’s emergency response to Australia’s Black Summer 2019-2020: wildlife triage, rescue and resilience for the future
Authors: Marissa L. Parrott; Leanne V. Wicker; Amanda Lamont; Chris Banks; Michelle Lang; Michael Lynch; Bonnie McMeekin; Kimberly A. Miller; Fiona Ryan; Katherine E. Selwood; Sally L. Sherwen; Craig Whiteford
Affiliation: Zoos Victoria
Abstract: Modern zoos are increasingly taking a leading role in emergency management and wildlife recovery. In the face of climate change and the predicted increase in frequency and magnitude of disasters, zoos provide specialised expertise to assist wildlife welfare and endangered species recovery. In the 2019-2020 Australian bushfire season, colloquially named the Black Summer, a State Government-directed response was developed, assembling specialised individuals and organisations from government, NGOs, research institutions and others. Here, we detail the role of Zoos Victoria staff in wildlife triage and welfare, threatened species evacuation and recovery, media and communications, and fundraising during and after the fires. We share strategies for future resilience, readiness and the ability to mobilise quickly in catastrophic events. The development of triage protocols, emergency response kits, emergency enclosures, and expanded and new captive breeding programs are underway, as are programs for care of staff mental health, and nature-based community healing for people directly affected by the fires. We hope that this account of activities to respond to one of the greatest recent threats to Australia’s biodiversity, and steps to prepare for the future, will assist other zoos and wildlife organisations around the world in preparations to assist wildlife during catastrophic events.
Title: advances in the impact of acoustic pollution on marine animals
Authors: Francesco Filiciotto
Affiliation: National Research Council (CNR)
Abstract: advances in the impact of acoustic pollution on marine animals