INJURED wildlife in the west faces a bleaker future with not-for-profit animal rescue organisation Wildlife Victoria announcing drastic changes to its services, including cutting its 24-hour emergency phone number.
Financial difficulties plagued the volunteer-based group, with board chairman Rob Gell telling the Weekly that the organisation would be broke by the year's end if drastic measures were not taken.
Two weeks ago, chief executive Karen Masson announced the emergency hotline would be cut to a daytime-only service from February 1 and volunteer rescuer rebates for animal food and fuel reduced.
Greendale Wildlife Rescue has its own dedicated 24-hour wildlife rescue service for the state's west, BADGAR.
But BADGAR co-founder Donna Zabinskas said the Wildlife Victoria cuts were "a grave concern" for all shelters, particularly in regional areas and inner Melbourne, which didn't have a 24-hour line to call.
"Wildlife Victoria covered a massive amount of after-hour calls. I wish we could absorb it all, but the reality is we don't have near enough resources.
"This will be a huge problem. It's the most well-known animal rescue number. We're trying to establish our number more firmly in our district so that our residents and animals won't be let down."
But Mr Gell said the line closure wouldn't have much impact.
"There is a bigger issue at stake. Do you want a 24-hour phone service or do you want to have a Wildlife Victoria? The reality is the phone line is one of the more cost-intensive elements of what we do."
Mr Gell said $4.3 million in donations had poured into the organisation after the Black Saturday bushfires, but bad budgeting had caused it to lose a significant amount of money annually.
"The reality is we will go bust by the end of the year if we don't do something. None of the last three committees got their governance or finances right, so we're in a situation where costs exceed our income."
He said the group's mission was to get its finances in order before appealing to bodies such as the RSPCA and the Department of Sustainability and Environment for assistance.
He said while Wildlife Victoria had to give a range of stakeholders confidence in the organisation, there could be further cuts.
"Our priority is to avoid redundancies. We are really agonising over this."
Ms Zabinskas said difficult times were ahead. "If we don't have volunteers in an area we'd usually refer to Wildlife Victoria. That will be our issue now. It will stretch our resources a great deal.
"If people hit a roo you can't expect them to sit by the road all night.
"Wildlife Victoria is a big group that does a lot of good so I'm really concerned for when the overnight number ceases."
Mr Gell said the organisation was aiming eventually to restore the 24-hour line.
To contact BADGAR, call 1300223427 or visit wildlifeshelter.org.au
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