AUSTRALIA's largest wildlife hospital is in turmoil amid an unprecedented staff exodus and allegations of malpractice.
Sources say a push to -replace vet nurses at Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital with -unqualified staff has led to -disturbing incidents. 
The Sunshine Coast hospital opened in 2004, inspired by the memory of Australia Zoo founder Steve Irwin's mother, Lyn, who died in 2000.
Hospital staff was so alarmed at falling standards Queensland Health was secretly urged to perform an audit. It found areas of concern including unqualified staff -administering medicines and vet nurses dosing animals with controlled drugs.
The hospital was ordered to address those issues. Vets and nurses have been quitting in despair, saying the changes "made it impossible to practise good medicine".
It is claimed the raw recruits - some had never worked with wildlife and came from shoe sales and call centres - may have led to broken bones in koalas accidentally dropped, animals given the wrong drugs, a bird having to be euthanased after being badly handled, and other incidents.
It is believed 12 vet nurses and four vets have left Australia Zoo from a pool of 16 nurses and four vets. One who left is head vet Dr Claude Lacasse. It is understood she resigned after finding the reduction in standards untenable.An Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital spokesman did not respond to specific questions but issued a statement saying its team was highly skilled, with more than 50 years' combined veterinary experience.