Is anyone on here from Australia, or surrounding areas? I was just curious as to what’s happening with this. So sad 😢

[kme3388]

MODERATOR EDIT: Linked article contains distressing content.

The startling reason Australia is shooting koalas out of trees from helicopters

The government says it’s for the animals’ own good.

www.vox.com

 

[kme3388]

I’ve never been to Australia. Is Budj Bim National Park a huge park? I’ve tried to google but pictures never do justice

 

[LaManuka]

MODERATOR EDIT: Linked article contains distressing content.

The startling reason Australia is shooting koalas out of trees from helicopters

The government says it’s for the animals’ own good.

www.vox.com

@kme3388, I'm in Australia, I could not possibly begin to tell you why this is happening. According to a radio broadcast I just listened to the locals, wildlife rescuers and rehabbers in the vicinity where this is happening are horrified, as am I. Absolutely shocking and unacceptable in my very humble opinion, I don't understand how this has occurred at all.

 

[kme3388]

@kme3388, I'm in Australia, I could not possibly begin to tell you why this is happening. According to a radio broadcast I just listened to the locals, wildlife rescuers and rehabbers in the vicinity where this is happening are horrified, as am I. Absolutely shocking and unacceptable in my very humble opinion, I don't understand how this has occurred at all.

I have tears running down my face reading this. Is there anywhere I can donate that’s reputable that you know of? I am not wealthy but my heart hurts

 

[DonnaBudgie]

I hate when things like this are done but it's not unusual when so called experts say that the animal population needs to be controlled by killing them. Here in the US they often justify hunting by claiming the deer population gets too large for the food supply unless they allow hunting. I hate hunting (sorry gun nuts) because its not a fair "sport" for the unarmed innocent animal.

 

[LaManuka]

I have tears running down my face reading this. Is there anywhere I can donate that’s reputable that you know of? I am not wealthy but my heart hurts

I'll send you a link via PM

 

[kme3388]

Is Australia really dry? I feel like I’ve read of many fires that have taken place there.



I’m not suggesting leaving a koala bear in a tree burnt, starving, and dying. I don’t know enough about the situation to even comment. It’s just incredibly heart breaking. It sounds like the eucalyptus trees are gone in that area from what I’ve read.



Do rescues usually go out in Australia to help the koalas that aren’t badly injured, and try to save them if they can? Relocate? Get them vet care?

 

[DonnaBudgie]

Regarding eucalyptus and wildfires, I lived in Southern California for 25 years and went through a lot of fire seasons. In 1994 I lost my home in Malibu to a wildfire. California has a lot of eucalyptus trees imported years ago from Australia because the climate was so similar to the dry climate of many areas of Australia. Right after a fire the eucalyptus trees are burned, but after a good rainy season they begin to grow back from the ground up. It's very hard to kill their root system. Although they grow pretty fast, it takes years for them to become trees again with enough leaves (I presume) to supply enough food for hungry koalas, which, of course, they don't have in California.

I know that Australia had some terrible wildfires a few years ago but I don't know if they have them as often as Southern California does. The eucalyptus that burned in Australia during those fires surely have not regrown enough to feed the koalas and provide them with a suitable habitat.

It's terrible that they're killing the koalas. I'm surprised because I thought Australia cherished their unique wildlife. They seem to be justifying this massacre by saying it's better than starvation. Maybe it is, but isn't there an alternative?

 

[LaManuka]

Is Australia really dry? I feel like I’ve read of many fires that have taken place there.



I’m not suggesting leaving a koala bear in a tree burnt, starving, and dying. I don’t know enough about the situation to even comment. It’s just incredibly heart breaking. It sounds like the eucalyptus trees are gone in that area from what I’ve read.



Do rescues usually go out in Australia to help the koalas that aren’t badly injured, and try to save them if they can? Relocate? Get them vet care?

Australia's a big country, so there are always parts that are dry and others that aren't. Right now we have large areas that are in flood, and there have been significant losses of wildlife and livestock. Victoria, the state where this incident with the koalas has taken place, is notorious for REALLY bad fires. Rehabbers most definitely do go and assist wildlife in natural disasters whenever they can. Again though, Australia is different to the US in that the population is a lot less and not so many people live in rural areas here as they do over there, so there just aren't as many people on hand to go out and get involved in a timely manner. Idk, but perhaps that's the reasoning behind the Victorian government's Department of Energy, Environment and Climate's decision. Here's a link to that radio interview I mentioned, it may give you some extra background about this particular incident, and again, the content may be distressing for some so discretion is advised....

DEECA begins aerial culling of koalas - ABC listen

The environmental agency says the animals need to be euthanised for humane reasons.

www.abc.net.au

 

[kme3388]

Not sure, I only know what I can see in the news. I have never been to Australia. I have no experience with how things are ran there, or how their government is.

It sounds like when these fires happen that koalas aren’t fast enough to get away, and can get badly burnt, and starve. The places that they live sound like smaller parks?!? Someone can correct me if I’m wrong. By all means I have no experience in Australia.

Are the rescues, and people on the ground not even able to get to where the koalas are? It sounds like it was a pretty bad fire.

 

[LaManuka]

Not sure, I only know what I can see in the news. I have never been to Australia. I have no experience with how things are ran there, or how their government is.

It sounds like when these fires happen that koalas aren’t fast enough to get away, and can get badly burnt, and starve. The places that they live sound like smaller parks?!? Someone can correct me if I’m wrong. By all means I have no experience in Australia.

Are the rescues, and people on the ground not even able to get to where the koalas are? It sounds like it was a pretty bad fire.

Koalas are unfortunately quite slow moving animals, and many of them do get very badly injured in fires as a result. Budj Bim National Park is also quite a long way away from what you'd call a major population centre. And from what I understand that State government department had closed off the area, even to licensed rehabbers. I am unsure of the exact motivation, either because of concerns about people's safety or perhaps just wanting to get the job done quickly and quietly. That was until the locals found out about it and went public.

 

[kme3388]

Are koalas over populated in Victoria? They were doing population control before this incident. They were giving birth control to the koalas too. Koalas to me are a big big deal as they aren’t native where I’m at. Are they more of a pest over there? I was reading on them, and it sounds like they get killed by dogs, and hit by cars all of the time. Maybe they are kind of like a raccoon would be here in America. Some people find raccoons to be pests, and they really don’t like them on their property.

 

[LaManuka]

Are koalas over populated in Victoria? They were doing population control before this incident. They were giving birth control to the koalas too. Koalas to me are a big big deal as they aren’t native where I’m at. Are they more of a pest over there? I was reading on them, and it sounds like they get killed by dogs, and hit by cars all of the time. Maybe they are kind of like a raccoon would be here in America. Some people find raccoons to be pests, and they really don’t like them on their property.

Unfortunately koalas are not terribly common, and are endangered in most parts of Australia due to habitat loss. The koalas in this particular part of the country seem to have taken to a blue gum eucalypt plantation forest close to the national park as it offered a concentrated source of food, so what seems to have happened was they bred rather well and overpopulated a relatively small area, made even smaller when parts of it burned. Eucalypts burn very badly because many species have evolved to require burning for their seeds to germinate, so once those forests catch light the fires are extremely destructive, hence the utter devastation that happened in 2019/2020. Koalas are most certainly not a "pest" species, they are a big deal to us too and I cannot fathom how that government department thought that news like this wouldn't get out!

 

[DonnaBudgie]

The only native marsupial the US, the Virginia Opposum, is also a slow, harmless creature and they are frequently hit by cars, especially at night.

 

[texsize]

I seem to recall a news article about a tourist handing a baby koala and making a tic tok video.
I remember reading how it outraged the citizens..

I guess this is different somehow.
SMH.

 

[kme3388]

I just don’t understand this at all. Thank you @LaManuka for explaining how things are in Australia. I try not to judge things I don’t understand. I don’t know how governments operate in other countries. I’m speechless.

 

[LaManuka]

I just don’t understand this at all. Thank you @LaManuka for explaining how things are in Australia. I try not to judge things I don’t understand. I don’t know how governments operate in other countries. I’m speechless.

Oh don't you worry, @kme3388, there are PLENTY of people down here who are outraged that this has happened, including me!!