The cockatoo son of The Godfather Of Punk Iggy Pop, Biggy Pop has been named the founding patron of the Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital.
Despite living half a world away in Miami, Florida, Biggy was devastated to see last summer's bushfire crisis decimate Australia's native bird population. "I'm a bird, and a real wild one, and I have many cockatoo cousins in Australia," squawks Biggy."I was so distressed to hear that 180 million birds died in the catastrophic bushfire crisis that killed over three billion native animals over the Australian summer.
"That really horrified me. I heard about the team of Australian veterinarians building Australia's largest mobile wildlife hospital and I thought: 'That is such a brilliant idea.'
"So when they asked if I would be their founding aptron, I thought: 'Yeah, I'd love to connect with my bird sisters and brothers in the magical land of Oz.'"
Byron Bay Wildlife Hospital have plans to custom build a self-contained, powered Mobile Hospital that will be housed in a 14.4m long semi-trailer, making it the largest of its kind in Australia.
The Byron Bay-based facility will be equipped with state-of-the-art medical equipment for emergency response to injured and traumatised wildlife in crisis anywhere in Australia. It is the precursor to a permanent wildlife hospital to be built on 100 acres of land in Byron Bay.
"Recent reports indicate that over three billion birds, mammals, reptiles and frogs were killed during the bushfire catastrophe. This is devastation of an unimaginable scale, and three times as bad as we first understood," BBWH CEO and Founder Dr Stephen Van Mil says.
"So we're just over the moon that Biggy Pop is going to help create awareness that wildlife need our help. He's got the voice, the moves and natural affinity with Australian wildlife. Biggy is the bird for the job."
Iggy rescued Biggy from a roadside vendor in the US who'd stuffed him inside a small cage. "He seemed to be in peril of a bad future," Iggy says.
"So we decided to take care of him, responsibly. And we have. He gets and gives a lot of love."
Back to Biggy: "I hope to get down there one day with Iggy, when it's safe for humans to travel again.
"I'd fly down there now, but my dad would really miss me. For now I'm going to help spread the word via my Instagram page." Bless Biggy.
