ALFA's Community Heroes Award, sponsored by Lallemand Animal Nutrition, is back for the fourth year running. This heart-warming award recognises and rewards feedlots across Australia for their outstanding contributions to local communities and the environment.
The overall winner will receive a $5,000 cash donation that can be directed towards a local charity, business, or feedlot initiative, further enriching their communities.
A home among the gumtrees: Rehoming Orphan Koalas
By Kate Stark
Gunnee Feedlot near Delungra, NSW, has become a little cuddlier after teaming up with animal rescue organisation WIRES to rehome orphaned koalas.
The team from Gunnee have been working with WIRES after a staff member found a sick koala on-site and wasn’t sure what to do.
The WIRES volunteer attended the feedlot and found a number of great locations on the property which offered ample eucalyptus trees, along with evidence of a thriving koala population.
“This then opened the doors to the possibility of being able to rehome other koalas at Gunnee which needed a safe and nutritious environment to habitat,” Gunnee Feedlot administration supervisor Rachel Porter said.
“This year, we have been working with Tanya from WIRES to be able to rehome Koalas that have either been orphaned or injured and unable to be returned to their original location.
“Tanya has worked closely with the team at Gunnee Feedlot and educated the staff in what to look for and how to handle an injured or sick koala.”
Ms Porter said Tanya also brings along her trained Koala Detection Dog to help search for and seek out koalas.
“Once the Koalas are back to health, they are transported from the Koala Hospital and are carefully rehomed on-site.
“They go through a procedure to ensure they are well cared for.”
Ms Porter said the koalas are slowly released back into the scrub at Gunnee using a step-by-step process which includes daily monitoring to ensure the koalas are adapting to their new environment for future longevity.
“As with all agriculture, the cattle industry plays its part in preserving land and native species.
“This project simply dovetails into our culture of preservation and provides an ideal location with plenty of area and numerous trees to rehome these koalas.”
Ms Porter said the team at Gunnee Feedlot are proud to have recently been involved in rehoming an orphaned koala named Kavan who couldn’t be returned to his previous habitat.
“Kavan was under supervision until he could safely be introduced to other koalas at Gunnee and found his home high up in one of our trees.”
Ms Porter said the long term goal of the Gunnee koala project was to continue to maintain a healthy environment and to provide a suitable and adequate native habitat for koalas to breed and create healthy sustainable colonies.
“As our environment is continually changing, we all want to know that we are doing our best to give back.
“This could be as simple as planting trees for our native animals or supporting local schools with environmental education.
“They are a great conversation piece when visitors arrive and the students from Delungra Public School are also helping out by planting koala-friendly trees in the area.”
About the ALFA Community Heroes Award
Gunnee Feedlot has entered the ALFA Community Heroes Award which recognises and rewards feedlots which are actively nourishing their community and environment. The winner, announced at BeefEx in October, will receive a $5,000 cash donation towards a local charity, business, or feedlot initiative to assist in further development and impact of the initiative.
With thanks to our ALFA Platinum Member sponsor, Lallemand Animal Nutrition for their support of this Award.
