TABLE 1.

Characteristics of Australian wildlife rehabilitators participating in a nationwide online survey conducted in 2018

Variable	Category	Number	Proportion (%)
Gender	Female	282	83.4
	Male	51	15.1
	Prefer not to say	5	1.5
Age	> 50	185	54.7
	≤ 50	153	45.3
Level of education	University/Postgraduate	153	45.3
	High School Level/TAFE or private college	185	54.7
State of residence a	NSW	189	55.9
	Queensland	71	21.0
	Tasmania	31	9.2
	Victoria	21	6.2
	Western Australia	17	5.0
	South Australia	3	0.9
	Northern Territory	5	1.5
	Australian Capital Territory	1	0.3
Remoteness classification	Major cities of Australia	99	29.3
	Inner regional Australia	167	49.4
	Outer regional Australia/remote Australia/very remote Australia	72	21.3
Active Rehabilitator	No	15	4.4
	Yes	323	95.6
Years rehabilitating Australian mammals	1–10	182	53.8
	>10	156	46.2
Number of animals cared for per year b	1–50	260	77.4
	More than 50	76	22.6
Associated with wildlife groups	No	28	8.3
	Yes	310	91.7
Primary location of rehabilitating wildlife	Wildlife rescue/rehabilitation facility closed to the public	44	13.0
	Animal facility open to public	14	4.1
	Veterinary clinic	30	8.9
	Private residence	296	87.6
Care for wildlife on own property	No	18	5.3
	Yes	320	94.7
Number of people in household	<3	123	36.4
	≥3	95	28.3
Occupational animal contact	No occupational contact	213	63.0
	Cattle sheep goats (ruminants)	50	14.8
	Non‐ruminant occupational contact	75	35.2
Present at non‐human birth	No	158	46.7
	Yes	180	53.3
Hand reared joeys	No	50	14.8
	Yes	288	85.2
Tick bite	No	185	55.1
	Yes	151	44.9

^a As determined by Australian postal code.

^b Missing data n = 2.

Abbreviation: TAFE, Technical and Further Education.