The Sunshine Coast’s famous bird-loving Twinnies are sending out a desperate “SOS” after becoming the latest victims of the region’s housing crunch.
Paula and Bridgette Powers and their menagerie of injured birds could soon be homeless after their landlord decided to sell the property they rent at Landsborough.
That is, unless they can come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy the place or find another block of land with a dam where they can start again.
The twins have been operating Twinnies Pelican and Seabird Rescue from the property on Steve Irwin Way, Landsborough, for the past 12 years.
Paula and Bridgette told Sunshine Coast News their options were to buy the property or relocate with all their animals, which include pelicans, ducks, shearwaters, water hens and more.
Currently they have a full house of birds, with every cage taken up in the intensive care unit (ICU) and hospital ward.
But finding a new place could prove extremely difficult at a time when families with pets are struggling to obtain rentals because of the tight market, forcing record numbers of dogs and cats into shelters.
The Twinnies said they were determined not to give up.
“We’ve done it before (moved) and if we have to do it again we will otherwise we will have to close down and we don’t want to do that,” said Paula and Bridgette.
“It would save us not moving, but if we have to, we have to.”
The sisters have put out an urgent plea for donations, with the hope of raising $100,000 but realistically believe they may need closer to $600,000.
The property will undergo a valuation in coming days which would determine how much the twins will need.
“We know it’s very hard for everyone out there with prices; we know how they feel,” said the twins.
“It’s a worry to us but it’s not for us, it’s for the birds. We want a house for the birds.”
Paula and Bridgette are famous around the world for devoting the last 16 years to rescuing injured seabirds and nurturing them back to health.
As identical twins who dress the same, they also attract public attention for their unique quirk of talking in unison and completing each other’s sentences.
Paula and Bridgette said they were grateful to their landlord for coming to their rescue 12 years ago when they were in a similar predicament and had to relocate their birds.
They said they received the latest news only a few days ago and it was a shock.
“We haven’t been ourselves,” they said.
The sisters are also in poor health but they said caring for the birds was what “keeps us going”.
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The Twinnies thanked their loyal supporters for helping each time they have put out a call for donations over the years to keep the rescue shelter open.
But now, they said, it was “crunch time” and they were facing their most desperate hour.
Their Facebook post revealed they were in “serious trouble”.
“This is our SOS, our plea for your urgent help,” the post reads.
“It’s serious and to be honest, if we can’t raise the funds we will probably have to close.
“We’re asking you to chip in to save Twinnies. Quite literally. We can’t bear to think about the other outcome but without this funding we won’t be able to maintain our presence.
“Our birds need us more than ever. They really do.
“On top of this is the cost for feed for the pelicans and birds. Like everything else it has just skyrocketed in price meaning our weekly shops cost much more than ever.”
Even a $5 would make a difference.
“It’s the cost of your next cup of coffee but one that will help us guarantee that we can continue doing what we do best to the pelicans and birds that need us more than ever,” says the Facebook post.
