Common causes for veterinary visits among Australian wildlife

Abstract: Australia has a unique wildlife, the increasing rate of species going extinct or being threatened to go extinct is thus a worry to many. Veterinary hospitals can play one part in increasing survival of wildlife, often suffering from ailments caused by humans. To be able to offer efficient and evidencebased care and treatment to wildlife, more research is needed. The purpose of this study is to better understand what type of wildlife patients that are being admitted into veterinary care in Australia, their reasons for admission, care in the acute phase and outcome after care. Using data on wildlife admissions from two wildlife hospitals in southeast Australia this study confirms what previous research has shown. The study shows that the most common patients are birds, the most common reason for admission is traumatic injuries and the trauma is most often caused by car strikes. The mortality rate is about 50% for the hospitals reviewed, there is a poor prognosis for patients admitted for trauma or disease but a better prognosis for orphaned animals.