Post by Murdoch University

Dr Stephen Van Mil knew at five that he'd be a vet. When we opened Western Australia's first veterinary school, he was among the earliest applicants. Today he's the founder, director and CEO of Wildlife Recovery Australia. His answer to a national gap in wildlife care is Matilda: Australia's only mobile hospital built solely for wildlife. Fully self-sufficient, with solar power, deep-cycle batteries and her own water tanks, Matilda can be treating patients within an hour of arriving almost anywhere. The need is stark. Wildlife care in Australia is almost entirely unfunded, carried by clinics, rescuers and carers who absorb the cost themselves. Around 40 per cent of the animals Stephen's team sees make it back into care or the wild, which is exactly why he's thinking bigger than any single patient. Student placements at Wildlife Recovery Australia are booked out to 2028, and the team recently spent three days at Parliament House in Canberra building support for a federally funded national framework for wildlife care. "It's a brighter future for wildlife right across the country," Stephen says, "and for the veterinarians, the nurses, and the young people wanting to get into this space." Stephen is one of the many faces of a brighter future. Read his full story: https://lnkd.in/d7HthVsN

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