Assessing and Managing Risks

As a wildlife volunteer, it is important to acknowledge that wildlife can be unpredictable in nature and it is therefore the responsibility of the volunteer to take precautions by identifying, assessing and minimising risks in advance of the rescue or situation. It is inevitable that you will encounter challenging rescues or be exposed to situations that you aren't quite prepared for, therefore in order to keep both you and the animal as safe as possible you will need to ensure you take the time to assess and plan in advance.

Identifying Hazards

Identifying hazards involves being aware of objects, situations or challenges that could potentially cause harm. Hazards are generally categorised as follows:

Hazards are not always obvious. You may identify hazards that present an immediate or significant danger to yourself, the animal or members of public. In these instances, it is crucial you remove yourself and other people away to a safer location and address how to proceed from there. If there are hazards involved in the rescue or volunteer activity (such as caring or releasing) that you do not feel comfortable addressing, as a volunteer you are under no obligation to proceed. Contact the Rescue Office for further assistance.

Controlling & Minimising Risks

A risk assessment involves considering what could happen if someone is exposed to a hazard and the likelihood of it happening. A risk assessment can help you better execute the rescue or volunteer activity. Assessing risks requires determining the following:

A risk assessment can be undertaken with varying degrees of detail depending on the type of hazard and the information and resources that you have available. It can be as simple as a discussion with the WIRES Rescue Office regarding recommended rescue techniques and procedures if you are unsure.

Risks can present as both physical or psychological. As mentioned earlier, we endeavour to assist members of the community wherever possible however under no circumstance are you expected to endure verbal harassment or bullying. The potential of psychological risks should be considered with rescues where the member of public appears scared, agitated or hostile and as a volunteer, you are entitled to abort the rescue and walk away. 

Based on the information you have available, take the time to consider potential risks and hazards, prior to undertaking the volunteer activity. For example, for a wildlife rescue, you should be carrying out a risk assessment once you have been notified and have accepted a rescue. Once at the rescue site, perform a risk assessment to determine any hazards and how those hazards may result in injury or illness. Hazards have the potential to cause different types and severities of harm, for example lifting a heavy object at the rescue site in order to gain access to an animal has the potential to cause muscular strain, compared to performing a rescue on the side of a busy road with an injured but still mobile animal has the potential to cause severe injury to you. Each of the outcomes involves a different type of harm with a range of severities, and each has a different likelihood of occurrence.

The risk will increase as the severity and likelihood of harm increases.

In most cases, incidents occur as a result of a chain of events and a failure of one or more links in that chain. If one or more of the events can be stopped or changed, the risk may be eliminated or reduced. One way of working out the chain of events is to determine the starting point where things will begin to go wrong and then consider: 'If this happens, what may happen next?'. 

To estimate the severity of harm that could result from each hazard you should consider the following questions:

• What type of harm could occur (for example muscular strain, bites, scratches etc.)? Could the hazard cause serious injury, illness or minor injuries requiring first aid?
• How many people/animals are exposed to the hazard?
• Could this hazard lead to other risks? Could a small incident escalate to a much larger event with more serious consequences?
• The most important step in managing risks involves eliminating them so far as reasonably practicable, or if that is not possible,minimising the risks so far as reasonably practicable. The most effective risk control measure involves eliminating the hazard and associated risk entirely.

An Example Rescue Scenario

You have accepted a rescue scenario involving a possum that has been attacked by a dog and is in a member of public's backyard, uncontained. You prepare in advance prior to arriving at the rescue scene by ensuring you are wearing appropriate PPE. Your initial assessment upon arriving at the rescue scene observes the dog is not restrained and therefore presents an immediate risk to both the animal and potentially yourself. You ask the member of public to remove the dog and ask them to also remain inside while you carry out the rescue. This will allow you to be free from both distraction and potential risk in order to resume your assessment for any further hazards. You then determine the possum has found refuge inside the garden shed. After assessing the environment of the shed, you have determined it is unsafe to proceed without additional PPE. After fitting a head torch and ensuring the path to the possum in the shed is free of objects that may cause harm or injury, you proceed with rescue.

Reviewing Your Rescue

You should allow yourself time to constantly review your risk and hazard assessment and determine what you may do differently next time. As part of your role as a WIRES member, you will likely come across a range of scenarios which present a range of different hazards and risks, therefore make it part of your WIRES procedure to review each rescue, care procedure or release by asking yourself the following questions:

• Did I identify all hazards? Did I take the time to minimise or eliminate the hazards?
• Did I implement safe and recommended handling procedures?
• Did I use the appropriate PPE for this rescue?
• Should I have performed this rescue, care activity or release? As mentioned earlier, as a WIRES volunteer you are under no obligation to perform a rescue. If you feel the environment presents too many hazards, contact the Rescue Office for further advice or assistance.