The koala massacre
After devastating wildfires, Australian loggers ‘kill hundreds more animals’ in...
LOGGERS have been accused of committing a koala ‘massacre’ after reports said hundreds were killed or injured at a tree plantation in Australia.
In a video that has gone viral online, one witness wept as she described how mothers and their babies were slaughtered.
Their bodies were bulldozed into piles, Friends of the Earth said.
The reported killings, which took place in a eucalyptus plantation near Portland in the state of Victoria, comes after up to 8,000 koalas were killed in Australia’s devastating wildfires. Social media users around the world were appalled when resident Helen Oakley posted a video on Facebook in which she sobbed: ‘There are koalas lying there dead. Mothers killed, and their little babies.
‘Australia should be ashamed of this... we need help.’
Andy Meddick, an MP in western
‘Absolutely abhorrent’
Victoria, wrote on Facebook: ‘ The scene today in Portland was absolutely abhorrent. Trees have been bulldozed with koalas still in them.
‘ There’s bodies of dead koalas among the branches, and some are still alive but injured. The ones that survived have depleted food sources.’
In a video on the website, he said: ‘This atrocity has happened when the world is watching in outrage at what has happened to our wildlife in the fires.
‘We have lost over a billion animals in these fires so far.’
The wildfires that have ravaged Australia since last June are reported to have killed up to 30 per cent of koalas in neighbouring New South Wales, with as many as 8,400 having died.
The government in Victoria is said to be investigating the koala deaths at the plantation, and the Australian environment department could prosecute anyone suspected of harming the animals.
Friends of the Earth Australia said hundreds may have been killed and injured during just one week’s logging. It said dead marsupials were bulldozed into mounds, while survivors were left starving because the eucalyptus trees on which they feed had been razed.
The trees – which are also known as gums – are a vital koala habitat, and it is illegal to kill, injure or disturb the creatures without authorisation.
The company responsible for the logging has not been identified. Ross Hampton, chief executive of the Australian Forest Products Association, said: ‘It is unclear who bulldozed the trees with koalas apparently still in them, but it is absolutely certain that this was not a plantation or a forestry company.
‘We support all those calling for the full force of the law to be applied to the perpetrator.’ The charity Animals Australia tweeted: ‘We are still gathering the details as to what occurred, but it would appear there are various breaches of legislation, including the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, which we will be supporting authorities to pursue. By law, companies that own plantations must provide spotters to identify koalas in trees before logging commences so animals can be safely removed and relocated.
‘There is also a responsibility to ensure the welfare of koalas after logging has ceased.’