The issue of koala management in areas surrounding blue gum plantations, including National Parks, has been thrown into the spotlight following the shooting of more than 1,000 koalas in Victoria’s Budj Bim National Park in response to impacts from a bushfire.
Following fires in the area known to be home to a large number of koalas, the Victorian Government had declared an emergency response “to manage the welfare of wildlife impacted by bushfire” with a justification of minimising the suffering of burned animals. They determined that an “aerial assessment and intervention program” was the safest and most humane approach to euthanise koalas in otherwise inaccessible areas of the park.
The presence of eucalypt plantations surrounding the National Park means that there are long-term koala management issues in the region that must be addressed with urgency.
While euthanasia may be the most humane way to treat severely injured koalas, we need confirmation that shooting was appropriate response and we have:
Habitat destruction and the management of eucalypt plantations in southern Australia have created serious koala welfare issues for decades, and with the threat of fires growing there’s no time to waste in reforming koala management to reduce koala deaths and suffering.
Please help us create a better world for koalas by writing to Victorian Environment Minister Steve Dimopolous and urging him to initiate a Parliamentary Inquiry into the management of blue gum plantations and koalas.
Thank you for taking action for animals.
