Rehabilitation Centre (Inc.)

In the late 1960's, June and Lloyd Butcher purchased 1.2 hectares of land at Gooseberry Hill, on the Darling Scarp east of Perth, Western Australia. They called the property Kanyana because of the 17 perennial springs in the vicinity.

As more and more houses were built, the human impact on the local wildlife increased. June, a Child Health nurse, began to take in and care for injured animals. Each year the numbers grew until, in 1986 (70 admissions), the Butcher family built a small hospital with aviaries attached. 

People heard of Kanyana and soon a small band of volunteers from the local community, came to help and learn how to care for the animals. By 1993 it was necessary to enlarge the hospital with additional aviaries.

In 1996 Kanyana became an incorporated body with a Board of Management. 

The Bilby breeding program began a year later and the number of people volunteering each week reached 100. Additional enclosures were built at the same time to cater for the successful breeding colonies.

The Internet has enabled veterinarians from Scotland and Japan to learn about Kanyana and travel to Australia to gain experience with our unique animals.

Several magazine articles on wildlife have featured the work of Kanyana's volunteers.

In 2002, Kanyana's activities featured in some high-profile television programmes with worldwide distribution. One of these programmes featured "Project Eden", a visionary campaign aimed at bringing animals on the Peron Peninsula, in the North West of Australia, back from the brink of extinction and returning them to their former homes. The bilby, a small marsupial, was a prime focus of the project.

As part of Project Eden, an electric fence was built to seal the peninsular off from the rest of the Australian continent. To assist the bilby's reintroduction, a captive breeding programme was established and the latest in biological and technological eradication techniques were implemented to remove feral animals from the peninsula.

Kanyana played a key role in the captive breeding programme, a role that continues today. June Butcher, Chairman of Kanyana Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre (Inc.), featured in the documentary about Project Eden. June used cameras that could see in the dark of the bilby burrow to witness, for the first time ever, the remarkable life cycle of this nocturnal marsupial destined for release into the wild.

Aussie Animal Rescue, a documentary series about the heart-warming world of wildlife rescuers in Australia, also featured Kanyana and its people. The series highlighted the commitment and dedication that so many possess. The work of June Butcher and the Kanyana volunteers, working tirelessly around the clock caring for injured and orphaned wild animals, was recognised in this series.