But Beechworth Correctional Centre in north-east Victoria is proving the perfect place for these injured or unwell animals to recover.
"When they first come in, sometimes they can be pretty temperamental depending on what sort of animal … they get used to us and, towards the end, we have to ween them away from us so they survive in the wild. More than 250 prisoners have been involved in that time, three of whom are still working in wildlife care on the outside.Another prisoner, Dougal , who has been incarcerated for three and a half years, said releasing the animals from the prison was rewarding.
Dougal said his favourite companion at the program was a wombat called Snappy, who loyally followed him around."It's probably not something I'd do full-time because there's a lot of work involved, and I see some of the other people who come and drop things off from shelters … I don't know how they do it," he said.
"They learn about how to handle the different types of animals, how to treat their injuries, how to re-educate them."Mr Jose said the prison had become an essential part of the local response to injured wildlife and that staff and prisoners had developed great relationships with local shelters, which also sent staff to assist in training.
number of Australian prisoners increased by 3 per cent, or 1,338, to 41,929 in the last financial year