Koala bears are being shot dead by snipers from helicopters as Australian authorities look to cull the iconic mammals after a wildfire devastated their habitat.
Animal activists have expressed their fury as they claim over 700 koalas have been shot dead so far and fearing more will be killed in the coming days.
Aerial snipers from the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) are patrolling the Budj Bim world heritage area in south-west Victoria after a lightning strike sparked a devastating wildfire last month.
The cull is being enforced amid fears the koala population will starve and die due to the loss of 2,000 hectares of the national park.
But Jess Robertson, president of the Koala Alliance, said that local communities were disgusted with the methods used, adding: “There is no way they can tell if a koala is in poor condition from a helicopter.”
A Koala Alliance spokesman shared images of a helicopter circling over the devastated forest on Facebook.
They added: “These koalas came from a blue gum plantation recently harvested near the national park. DEECA are still in there shooting. The death toll is rising.
“If koalas were shot out of trees, this means many joeys would be left to suffer and die. It’s despicable. It’s cruel. This is exactly why DEECA never wanted the public to know.”
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan defended the policy, saying the koalas were “severely injured and under a lot of distress”.
She said: “I’m advised the department undertook extensive assessments in the context of a bushfire that went through this local community started by lighting strike.
“After an examination of the circumstances, this approach was deemed the way to really recognise the koalas were in a lot of distress.
“That’s the advice I’ve received, and in terms of those assessments, they are made by wildlife experts.”
But koala researchers say the approach is just another example “in a long line of mismanagement of the species and its habitat”.
Rolf Schlagloth, from CQUniversity Australia, told Vox: “We can’t eliminate bushfires altogether but more continuous, healthy forests can assist in reducing the risk and severity of fires. Koala habitat needs to be extensive and connected and the management of blue gum plantations needs to consider the koala as these trees are very attractive to them.”
Euthanasia should be used as a last resort when animals are severely injured, he added. But an aerial cull “appears to be a very indiscriminate method,” Dr Schlagloth said.
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