Stop Shooting Koala Bears While Destroying Their Homes

Target: Jacinta Allen, Premier of Victoria, Australia

Goal: Explore alternatives to koala culls and expand efforts to preserve habitats.

An Australian park was the site of a very controversial cull. Helicopters descended on Budj Bim National Park, and snipers inside the choppers shot over 700 koala bears. The shocking action took place after a large brushfire devastated much of the koalas’ habitat. Although officials argued they were doing what’s best for sickened and vulnerable animals, an intense backlash – and equally intense criticism – has arisen.

Immediate criticisms focused on the culls themselves, which initially took place with no public disclosure. Advocates for the koalas argued that aerial evaluations were a poor way to determine which koalas were in poor health. In addition, killing mother koalas would put young joeys at imminent risk of death. And some critics contend that efforts to provide the koalas with short-term food boosts were ignored.

Longer-term, conservationists foresee even more serious problems. Habitats and food sources for the forest-dwelling koalas continue to shrink due to logging and brushfires fueled by poor forest management and climate effects. Koalas have already reached endangered status across large swaths of Australia, and the government’s lack of transparency on issues that directly affect their populations is compounding the crisis.

Sign the petition below to demand leaders take proactive steps to save these beloved animals in both the short-term and the long-term.

PETITION LETTER:

Dear Premier Allen,

The necessity and means of the recent koala cull in Victoria are a matter for debate. Was aerial evaluation suitable and reliable? Were healthy koalas caught in the crosshairs? Could more attention have been given to increasing food supplies? We may never know the answers, though these questions should be posed and analyzed in future situations.

What we can likely say with more confidence is that koala habitation is an ongoing problem. Concentrations are too high in certain areas, and not enough in others. As a consequence, genetic diversity suffers and the dangers from disasters like the national park bushfire increase.  Accept the offers of Wildlife Victoria to send trained experts and medical personnel to the currently affected area.

Longer-term, devote more resources to protecting koalas’ invaluable habitats and to mitigating the damaging effects of logging, of forest mismanagement, and of the climate crisis. Habitat conservation is species conservation.

Sincerely,

[Your Name Here]

Photo Credit: Flickr