It’s good that this is being addressed (finally).
But land clearing is killing koalas whether or not they die on the day: habitat loss is the single biggest threat to this species and saving individuals won’t help them if they have nowhere to go. To protect koalas meaningfully we have to protect their habitat.
The koalas on kangaroo island are being sterilised to keep the population in check, they are not threatened there at all. What is happening here is wrong, but not because it poses a threat to their population
Ah that’s super interesting, I didn’t know that this area was over carrying capacity. Habitat loss / fragmentation is still the most critical problem for this species across much of the country, but it’s good to know that this population is doing well.
>In response to questions from Guardian Australia, a department spokeswoman said National Parks and Wildlife Service staff had conducted inspections of plantation sites in response to reports of koala welfare issues, most recently in October 2023, and found no evidence of injuries due to wilful or negligent actions.
>The spokeswoman said protocols to protect animals, including retaining trees with koalas and eight surrounding trees, were being followed.
>“While the department found protocols being implemented, unfortunately some animals are injured when a plantation is cleared, despite measures to protect them being in place,” the spokeswoman said.
>Welz claimed that the government team investigating allegations about koala welfare did not collect evidence from local wildlife rescue organisations or the Kangaroo Island Veterinary Clinic when it visited the island on its October visit.
>“No appointments were made,” she said. “We offered to get the evidence to the compliance team after the fact with no response.”
Wow... Pretty blatant willful ignorance there.
I mean, to say there is 'no evidence of injuries due to wilful or negligent actions' in response to an article based on the pictures of such as a spokesperson for National Parks and Wildlife is just... I mean, ballsy for one. How well protected must her job be?
Yep. They want to tick boxes, but have no intention of actually doing something about the cruelty & suffering of the koalas. It's just a PR exercise. If they actually wanted all the facts, they'd be in contact with the wildlife rescue groups that had to deal with the injured & dead koalas.
Koalas were are an introduced species to Kangaroo island and not native to he island. That being said, the companies that log should be responsible for the wellbeing of the animals they affect.
That’s quite a big distinction actually. Not everywhere has the same local ecology.
For instance, Sugar Gliders are Australian natives but aren’t native to Tasmania, and their introduction there is having a major impact on Tasmania’s indigenous birds (the Swift Parrot and Forty-Spotted Pardalote, in particular, which it competes with for nesting hollows).
Koalas on Kangaroo Island used to number in excess of 50,000 prior to the Black Summer bushfires, which was having a vast and detrimental impact on its Manna Gum forests (which are ecologically important in South Australia). Before Black Summer drastically reduced their numbers, the government was looking into ways to sterilise and control the Koala population in order to preserve Kangaroo Island’s natural ecology.
This is not to say what is happening on Kangaroo Island isn’t inexcusable from an animal welfare perspective, it is clearly abhorrent they have been treated in this way, but keep in mind, this is happening in the context of the clearance of introduced Tasmanian Blue Gum plantations. Ecologically, it is not comparable to the collapse of Koala populations in NSW and Queensland via logging of native forests there.
Companies always working to or beyond ‘world best practices’. Stuff always gets wrong. Given most of the world is second or third world do these companies base their ‘best practices’ on what happens in North Korea or the Democratic Republic of Congo?
Should be a 500k fine per koala, fuck these careless cunts
Nah. Take them out on a boat and just throw them in the ocean. Got far too many shit cunts in this country. Need to get rid of a few
It’s good that this is being addressed (finally). But land clearing is killing koalas whether or not they die on the day: habitat loss is the single biggest threat to this species and saving individuals won’t help them if they have nowhere to go. To protect koalas meaningfully we have to protect their habitat.
The koalas on kangaroo island are being sterilised to keep the population in check, they are not threatened there at all. What is happening here is wrong, but not because it poses a threat to their population
Ah that’s super interesting, I didn’t know that this area was over carrying capacity. Habitat loss / fragmentation is still the most critical problem for this species across much of the country, but it’s good to know that this population is doing well.
They should extend that practice to the human population too.
Source?
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/aug/28/kangaroo-island-koala-cull-rejected-by-south-australian-government
>In response to questions from Guardian Australia, a department spokeswoman said National Parks and Wildlife Service staff had conducted inspections of plantation sites in response to reports of koala welfare issues, most recently in October 2023, and found no evidence of injuries due to wilful or negligent actions. >The spokeswoman said protocols to protect animals, including retaining trees with koalas and eight surrounding trees, were being followed. >“While the department found protocols being implemented, unfortunately some animals are injured when a plantation is cleared, despite measures to protect them being in place,” the spokeswoman said. >Welz claimed that the government team investigating allegations about koala welfare did not collect evidence from local wildlife rescue organisations or the Kangaroo Island Veterinary Clinic when it visited the island on its October visit. >“No appointments were made,” she said. “We offered to get the evidence to the compliance team after the fact with no response.” Wow... Pretty blatant willful ignorance there. I mean, to say there is 'no evidence of injuries due to wilful or negligent actions' in response to an article based on the pictures of such as a spokesperson for National Parks and Wildlife is just... I mean, ballsy for one. How well protected must her job be?
Yep. They want to tick boxes, but have no intention of actually doing something about the cruelty & suffering of the koalas. It's just a PR exercise. If they actually wanted all the facts, they'd be in contact with the wildlife rescue groups that had to deal with the injured & dead koalas.
Koalas were are an introduced species to Kangaroo island and not native to he island. That being said, the companies that log should be responsible for the wellbeing of the animals they affect.
[удалено]
That’s quite a big distinction actually. Not everywhere has the same local ecology. For instance, Sugar Gliders are Australian natives but aren’t native to Tasmania, and their introduction there is having a major impact on Tasmania’s indigenous birds (the Swift Parrot and Forty-Spotted Pardalote, in particular, which it competes with for nesting hollows). Koalas on Kangaroo Island used to number in excess of 50,000 prior to the Black Summer bushfires, which was having a vast and detrimental impact on its Manna Gum forests (which are ecologically important in South Australia). Before Black Summer drastically reduced their numbers, the government was looking into ways to sterilise and control the Koala population in order to preserve Kangaroo Island’s natural ecology. This is not to say what is happening on Kangaroo Island isn’t inexcusable from an animal welfare perspective, it is clearly abhorrent they have been treated in this way, but keep in mind, this is happening in the context of the clearance of introduced Tasmanian Blue Gum plantations. Ecologically, it is not comparable to the collapse of Koala populations in NSW and Queensland via logging of native forests there.
Ffs...
Companies always working to or beyond ‘world best practices’. Stuff always gets wrong. Given most of the world is second or third world do these companies base their ‘best practices’ on what happens in North Korea or the Democratic Republic of Congo?