09/10/2025
When a young kangaroo tumbled into a dark, freezing mineshaft near Bromley on Tuesday, it should have been a simple rescue. Instead, it exposed just how broken Wildlife Victoria has become – an organisation now ruled by red tape and ego rather than empathy.
Central Goldfields Wildlife Rescue received the call directly from Wildlife Victoria – ironic, given they’d already cut ties over the group’s harmful, exclusionary policies. Assured that backup and a trained darter would be provided, the rescuer set out, baby in tow, only to be sent to the wrong location.
When the correct site was finally confirmed and the situation grew urgent, Wildlife Victoria suddenly refused to help. Their reasoning? The rescuer was “no longer part of their network.”
While a terrified six-kilogram joey shivered and whimpered in the dark, Wildlife Victoria’s paid staff sat behind policies. No compassion, no urgency – just procedure. For two agonising hours, the rescuer pleaded for support. None came.
Only when local darter Ian arrived did things finally change. He tranquillised the joey, lifted him to safety, and helped deliver him to McIntyre Shelter for care. It was a moment of relief.
Across Victoria, anger toward Wildlife Victoria is boiling over. Locals say they’ve stopped calling altogether, after too many encounters with unanswered phones, untrained call-takers, and empty promises.
Many now donate directly to shelters, determined their money goes toward fuel and feed – not executive salaries and PR campaigns.
This wasn’t an isolated failure. It’s a symptom of a system that’s forgotten its purpose. Wildlife Victoria’s obsession with control and policy is leaving animals to die in silence while those on the ground – the people actually saving lives – are shut out.
That Bromley joey survived in spite of Wildlife Victoria, not because of it. Until the organisation puts animals before image, compassion before hierarchy, and trust back into the hands of real rescuers, its name will remain a stain on the cause it claims to champion.
