An “oil spill wand” developed by the Penguin Foundation at Victoria’s Phillip Island promises to revolutionise the way oiled wildlife are cleaned, causing less stress to oiled animals and providing a faster and cheaper solution.
Traditional treatment of scrubbing oiled wildlife with warm water and detergent is labour-intensive, requires expensive equipment and facilities, causes high levels of stress to the animal and can damage the bird’s feathers.
However, the oil spill wand applies a metallic powder that binds with the oil. A magnetic wand is then waved over the animal, drawing up the metallic powder and oil.
The process is fast, safe, and enables the animal to be cleaned quickly – removing the worst of the contamination as quickly as possible. The process takes about 5 minutes.
