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Aerial shooting of koalas in Victoria’s Budj Bim National Park
Humane World for Animals is deeply concerned about reports that several hundred koalas have been shot from helicopters in Budj Bim National Park, parts of which were heavily impacted by bushfires beginning seven weeks ago on March 10.
Following the fires in the area known to be home to a large number of koalas, the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) declared an emergency response “to manage the welfare of wildlife impacted by bushfire” with a justification of minimising suffering endured by burned animals. They determined that an “aerial assessment and intervention program” was the safest and most humane approach to euthanise koalas in areas of the park which cannot be accessed by ground.
Evan Quartermain, Australian Head of Programs at Humane World for Animals, said:
“Both the large scale and broad justification for intervention at Budj Bim National Park raise serious concerns. Difficult welfare decisions are unavoidable following fires and minimising animal suffering is often the best outcome that can be hoped for, but we can’t let aerial shooting become the go-to method for wildlife disaster response.”
“It’s incredibly difficult to make an accurate assessment of recovery outcomes from a distance. Koalas that have survived the horror of bushfires are fighters, and there are many trained wildlife rescue teams, including ours at Humane World for Animals, ready to conduct search and rescue so more informed veterinary assessments can be made.”
With long-term koala management issues in the area due to the presence of eucalypt plantations surrounding the National Park, there are concerns that the response has been excessive and the expansion of justification for intervention to prevent starvation is inappropriate given recent drone evidence of abundantly available koala feed trees.
There are additional concerns around the welfare of shot animals, confirmation that shooting was appropriate, and presence of dependent koala joeys including in pouches.
Humane World for Animals has requested urgent additional information from DEECA and will attend a stakeholder briefing tomorrow (Tuesday April 29). We are also investigating the potential for urgent action to prevent continued koala killing.
We are strongly supportive of calls for an independent review of management plans designed to protect koalas in private timber plantations, and remain committed to advocating for koalas and all wildlife impacted by bushfires and other disaster events.
