WILDLIFE CARE HELPS FIGHT DEPRESSION
IT was just by chance that Phillip England found his saving grace by saving the little lives of helpless animals.
For the past seven years Mr England has been a breeder and keeper of amphibians and reptiles.
After his roommate became a volunteer with North Queensland Wildlife Care five years ago, it encouraged Mr England to join the organisation. Since then he has hand-nursed countless sick and injured animals back to health.
He said rehabilitating animals had saved his own health after having a mental breakdown at work five years ago.
“It helps me fight my depression and anxiety because they are dependent on me so I have to get out of bed every morning and have a routine,” he said.
“If you are not able to get up and look after them, they won’t survive.”
Mr England is currently looking after 30 bats, and released a turtle back into the wild at the beginning of the week. He said looking after animals had given him an appreciation for life.
“It is a great sense of satisfaction, especially the misunderstood species like flying foxes and how important they are to our ecosystem,” he said. “It is just a feeling of achievement and there is a lot of death and horrible things but it’s nice to finally release an animal back into the wild; it is a fulfilling feeling.”
Mr England said he saw a counsellor every fortnight and a psychiatrist every six months and they both supported his rescue efforts.
“They class my animals as my baseline so if I’m not looking after them, they know I am not travelling well,” he said.