Six months after bushfires almost destroyed his Tantawangalo wildlife sanctuary, Peter Day has received a $5,000 grant to support his animal rescue program.
Peter and his wife Mimi escaped with four joeys in their car, just moments before bushfires tore through their property near Cathcart.
"A National Parks truck came flying up our driveway and the officer told us we must get out. He said we couldn't defend the property and we would die if we stayed," Peter said.
"As we left, the whole place went up. It was an inferno as we got out."
Despite the intensity of the fire, the couple's home and their wildlife sanctuary survived. However, all their fencing was lost and with it the ability to keep rescued animals safe.
Snowy Monaro Regional Council has passed on the $5,000 grant to help Peter's wildlife rescue program recover and to support the sanctuary's ongoing work in caring for injured native animals.
Peter has received the grant through the Disaster Recovery Funding Arrangements program.
"I'm so glad to have received this funding, it is very good news," Peter said.
"Thank you for the assistance. The funding will help rebuild what we lost and further the work we can do to support injured wildlife."
Upon returning to the property following their bushfire escape, Peter and Mimi quickly began treating injured wildlife. They were helped by New Zealand organisation HUHA (Helping You Help Animals) who established a triage clinic at the sanctuary.
Supported by Snowy Monaro based wildlife rescue group LAOKO (Looking After Our Kosciuszko Orphans), Peter and Mimi have been able to release treated animals back into the Tantawangalo State Forest.
"We were fortunate to have been assisted by HUHA and LAOKO. They responded quickly to our call for help," Peter said.
"Assistance also came from the Humane Society, who straight away provided us with funds to rebuild our fences to ensure the animals are kept safe before their release.
Peter and Mimi have been with BlazeAid's Bombala camp to repair their damaged fencing. The BlazeAid volunteers have built fences designed for the sanctuary. Wombat gates and high fences are keeping the native animals safe.
"Thanks to BlazeAid I can sleep at night knowing the animals are safe," Peter said.
