A Global Network of Animal Health Professionals Concerned About Climate Change and the Environment
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The 2000+-page State of the Environment report released today is pretty bleak regarding the poor and deteriorating state of most of Australia's environmental categories, the impact of this on wildlife, and the sobering observation "Environmental degradation is now considered a threat to humanity, which could bring about societal collapses with long-lasting and severe consequences." There is still hope to avoid the worst, but only if strong action is taken now by individuals, business, industry, finance AND government at all levels. Here's a local story about VfCA's take on it. https://www.portnews.com.au/story/7825226/time-for-action-vet-responds-to-environment-report-card/?cs=257&fbclid=IwAR11GhFETXoJiV1Naq2RV-L49JUsC8tyFvx7YINPnTr5E9A9itE_lZqRJGo   
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 As vets, we’re passionate about animals and we know that most Australians are too. And we see that all kinds of animals are harmed by the effects of a changing climate. That’s why Vets for Climate Action are calling for strong, rapid greenhouse gas emissions. The science in this latest IPCC reports tells us that, because we’ve let things get away, we need to use every tool in the toolbox, now, to keep the things the way we want them for animals and people. That means all us - individuals, business, finance, industry and government at federal, state and local levels, of all stripes, all working together and doing the very best we can to genuinely reduce emissions as much as possible. People can help us out, by spreading the message that if you love an animal, climate change is an important issue for you. 
Climate Change: A Veterinary Problem Would you like to learn more about climate science from a veterinary perspective, understand how the climate impacts on animals, and find out what veterinarians can do about it? Join Angela Frimberger for an upcoming free webinar that will discuss these questions! Angela is a veterinary oncologist living in regional NSW, Australia. She is a Climate Reality Project-trained presenter and has a long history of advocating for a safe climate. The webinar will run twice at two different times to accommodate participants in different time zones:
To request the Zoom link, please email Angela directly at angela.climatevets@gmail.com.  Hi Climate Vets! I hope you've all been keeping safe and holding up OK with all the ways that COVID-19 is impacting people everywhere. Those of you not in Australia, we acknowledge that things here aren't nearly as bad as most other places in the world, and we're sending you our support and best wishes. I wanted to update you on what I've been up to, climate-wise... I've been doing a lot but haven't taken the time to share with you, so I thought it was about time! I've been putting most of my climate time and energy into Veterinarians for Climate Action (vfca.org.au) and Energy Forever (http://www.pmhsn.org.au/energy-forever/), both of which are making some great progress that I'm really excited about. A lot of this work isn't very share-worthy as much of it is behind the scenes, but here are a few things that listen-able or watchable:
What have you been up to? Please comment and share, and help inspire your fellow Climate Vets! Yours, Angela  Everyone is aware by now of the incomprehensible scale of animal death in the Australian bushfire event this summer, with the loss conservatively estimated at one billion mammals (plus other vertebrates and COUNTLESS invertebrates). It's really staggering. If you're following this blog you know about our fires in November. Here are photos of two reptiles that have emerged from our burned area in the last few weeks (for non-Australians, they are a "land mullet" (a large skink) and a red-bellied black snake) . Both of these animals should be round and shiny, not concave. They survived the fire itself, only to end up starving 2 months later. Obviously there are millions like this around Australia, not counted as initial casualties, who didn't happen to make themselves known to friendly veterinarians. As follow-up, I'm happy to say we were able to relocate these two individuals to better feeding grounds. We haven't seen the snake again but the land mullet has been seen sunning himself a week after the relocation, looking much sleeker already. I also want to share this statement from the Australian Entomological Society, that I think is really powerful in its brief, simple statement of plain fact. It's only a little more than a page long, and it says so much: https://www.austentsoc.org.au/AES/Documents/AESCC_Response_to_Bushfire_Crisis_Jan_2020.pdf    Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison credited his surprising election win last May to "the quiet Australians". He meant people who just want to go about their own business and don't engage in public discourse - and he likes it that way.
Bramble Cay is a small coral cay at the northern tip of the great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. The Bramble Cay melomys is a small Australian mammal that was last seen in 2009 and was declared extinct by various authorities between 2015 and 2019. The Queensland government considered it the first mammalian species extinction due specifically to anthropogenic climate change. Extinct is very, very quiet. There are many other small species with very limited ranges. Ranges that are on fire right now, such as the Kangaroo Island dunnart. Once the flames and soot settle after the current unprecedented fire disaster, time will tell how many more Australian species will be very, very quiet. When will the Australian government govern for them? Dear friends,
Here's a link to my Op-Ed in yesterday's Port Macquarie News about my personal experience with the recent bushfires and observed impact on wildlife. This was written and published in collaboration with Amanda Woodward of the Climate Media Centre. Sadly the last two paragraphs were truncated in the paper version but it is complete online. Yours for the critters, Angela https://www.portnews.com.au/story/6504748/wildlife-the-silent-victim-of-bushfire-tragedy/?cs=259 Dear Climate Vets,
At some point I want to tell you about our bushfire experience of the last few weeks and the impact on our surrounding bush and wildlife, but today I'm working on catching up on the things I didn't do while we were putting out fires! So, here's something that I've been very much wanting to share with those of you in Australia - a group of veterinarians from across Australia who are creating a climate action group within our industry. We've been getting great feedback so far and we're really optimistic that it will be an effective effort. At this stage we need your help please! We're in the process of applying for Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR) status, a prerequisite for donations to be tax deductible. We're pushing this application through as fast as we can because it can take up to 12 months for our application to even be reviewed. For this application our organisation needs to have 50 members, and I'd really appreciate it if you could help us out by being one of these first 50. To become a member you just need you to fill out this form, which should take you ~5 minutes. There is no membership fee at this stage. When we launch officially in a few months you can then either rescind your membership or pay a membership fee to become a fully fledged member. Either way, we appreciate your help to get us over this initial hurdle! Eventually, membership fees will likely sit in the ~$90 range, with larger donations encouraged from those who particularly believe in our cause. We are having to stage it like this because we're still several weeks away from having the required permits to fundraise and/or accept donations at all. If you want to know more about VfCA, or get more involved, please contact me back and I can get your more information, links etc. Many thanks in advance!! ~Angela True, there's no internet shortage of photos of last Friday's MASSIVE event. But here are some images from little old Port Macquarie - estimated 1500 strikers from an area of just under 80,000. One of the common criticisms / concerns about the strike is "but what will it really achieve?"... so I wanted to report that on Monday, a prominent member of my local Council got in touch to let me know she's organising a group to lead on making progress in emission reduction in our community. And she specifically said it was in response to Friday's action!! Keep up the good work Climate Vets, wherever you are in the world. Yours for the climate, ~Angela    |
