Wildlife rescuers from South Australia and New South Wales were kept from helping out in the ongoing clean-up drive of the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as the Australian Marine Wildlife Research and Rescue Organisation lamented that strict regulations being implemented on the site prevented its team from participating in animal rescue efforts.

Organisation representative Aaron Machado scored the decision of their American counterparts to reject the help that his co-volunteers were offering, stressing that "this is an oil spill that Earth has never seen before, it's ignorant and somewhat arrogant on their behalf to consider all outside help not an option."

Mr Machado said that his group's five-day stint on the disaster site was an overwhelming experience, as he recalled sights of hundreds of dead birds piled up in trailers with many other animals affected by the widespread oil spill.

He said that many volunteers were prevented from giving aid to the stricken animals and "you can even see them standing next to the dying creatures and they are unable to touch them because of red tape, because they're not licensed to touch them."

The US groups leading the mission, the International Bird Rescue Research Centre and the Tri-State Bird Rescue, explained that rescuers wishing to enter the spill area must first be accredited and trained in accordance with British Petroleum's (BP) clean-up obligations.

Ian Robinson, director at the International Fund for Animal Welfare in the US, said that BP is required by law to fund the rescue of the animals and no help is needed for now since "the expertise which exists in the US is second to none, so I believe that the right people are there doing the job."

Mr Robinson said that US groups undertaking the clean-up effort are not looking for outside resources at the moment though he surmised that more resources would be required should the campaign lasts much longer than foreseen.

He advised though that it is unwise for people to proceed to the disaster site uninvited as "rushing there and doing something may not be the right thing to do."

However, members of another Australian rescue group, the Australian Seabird Rescue, would not raise their hands that easily as the group's project manager Keith Williams tried negotiating with those in charge of the clean-up process.

Mr Williams said that his team is still engage in dialogue with their US counterpart, "patiently trying to get the message across that we've got things to offer to help them, that it's not people and resources but skills and knowledge."