Outrage over koala 'massacre': Helicopter marksmen sniper hundreds dead after devastating bushfires
The marsupials are being gunned down as part of a welfare programme but campaigners have hit out at the government and called the actions cruel.
Roughly 750 koalas, some of which are protected, have been killed by aerial snipers from Australia's Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) as part of a euthanasia programme after bush fires left many injured and starving in Budj Bim National Park.
While the government has claimed it is looking out for the koalas best interests, animal welfare groups have reported joeys (baby koalas) plunging from trees still clinging to their dead mothers according to the Sunday Mirror.
Wayne Pacelle, President, Center for a Humane Economy told the paper: 'This isn't mercy. It's a massacre.'
The number of koalas in Australia has declined in recent years due to disease, bush fires and drought with the population in New South Wales down 60 per cent since 2001.
Koalas are listed as endangered in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory, but they are not in south-west Victoria and South Australia where there are not enough trees to sustain populations.
Following the 2019-20 bush fires, scientists warned that koalas were on borrowed time and could even become extinct by 2050 without urgent action.
Animal rights groups are now calling on the Australian Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese to act to prevent the cruel mistreatment of one of Australia's most famous animals.
Some critics have suggested that the cull is to keep away koalas from commercial eucalyptus plants but Mr Pacelle has said that those in Victoria have simply overlooked the value of the animals.
In a statement from Koala Alliance, the protection group said it was dangerous for people to accept the killing of koalas as necessary and allowing the Australian government to continue would set a 'dangerous precedent'.
Speaking to The Independent, Jess Robertson, president of the Koala Alliance, said that local communities were disgusted with the methods used and added that it wasn't efficient and did not have the welfare of the koalas at heart.
She said: 'There is no way they can tell if a koala is in poor condition from a helicopter.'
But Victoria State Government said 48 per cent of 2,219 koalas had been suffering from injuries and burns from bush fires in a sample collected in March.
Experts have also said that it is important to consider the habitat of koalas and better manage the landscape.
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
Australian-Palestinian MP says his people are always made to be ‘strangers in their own homes'
The newly elected MP Basem Abdo has told parliament in his first speech the government should make a 'historic commitment' to international law, human rights and peace, saying Palestinians are always 'made to be strangers in their own homes'. Abdo, who is of Palestinian background, has spoken of his family's journey from Kuwait to Jordan during the first Gulf War before settling in Australia, telling parliament of the 'intergenerational dispossession' of Palestinians. Coming soon after the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, had told parliament of his distress at seeing images from Gaza, Abdo's speech did not explicitly mention Israel's military campaign in the occupied territory, but it carried unmistakeable references to the growing humanitarian crisis. 'International law matters. The international rules-based order matters,' Abdo said on Monday night. 'Human rights matter. The right to peace, justice and recognition matters. Deserving of an historic commitment.' Abdo was born in Kuwait, before his parents fled as refugees to Jordan. He was a staffer to the former Calwell MP Maria Vamvakinou, one of Labor's most outspoken voices on Palestine, before being preselected and ultimately prevailing in the most complex preference count the Australian Electoral Commission has ever conducted. Abdo told parliament of what he called the 'quiet chaos' as his parents escaped Kuwait. 'We were held up at the border because the number plates on the vehicles had to be changed. Through the night, we waited in the barren desert along the Jordanian border for the new plates to be sent from the capital,' he said. 'Because that's what war looks like too – not just tanks and fear, but paperwork, approvals, and delays. The administrative burdens and the never-ending weight of bureaucracy – even in war.' Speaking about taking refuge in Jordan, Abdo recounted taping up their apartment windows with gaffer tape. 'We walked with our parents down a path that belonged to a people always forced to leave for the next place,' he said. 'Our story of intergenerational dispossession – again, and always once more - never with any certainty that this would, finally, be the last time. No matter how much we contributed to the countries we lived in and where we almost always excelled. No matter how long our families had called a place home. We belonged to a people who were always the first to be made strangers in their own homes – simply because we were Palestinian.' Asked in question time about whether the government would recognise a Palestinian state, Albanese raised alarm again about the 'humanitarian catastrophe' in Gaza as civilians are killed and starve. He said recognition of statehood must be 'more than a gesture', repeating conditions about advancing a lasting peace with Israel, but said Australia was 'in discussions with other countries as well going forward'. Abdo's speech praised Calwell as 'one of the most diverse communities in the country – and one of the proudest', promising to 'stand in solidarity with those communities that often feel excluded from the Australian story'. 'Our multicultural Australia is a remarkable achievement – and it's our responsibility in this place to protect it so the promise of a fair go is real for all.' Abdo's speech went on to outline his commitment to local manufacturing and jobs, speaking of disruption and dispossession coming from political decisions like social neglect and economic exclusion. He spoke sadly about his parents struggling to find work in Australia, despite qualifications from overseas, and the collapse of manufacturing in his outer Melbourne electorate. 'Too often it is working people who feel the first shock, who shoulder the greatest burden, who get the least support to recover and rebuild,' he said.
The Guardian
4 hours ago
- The Guardian
‘A huge human cost': Labor criticised over delays to aged care reforms as waitlist grows
Labor is facing a backlash over aged care services as a delay to landmark reforms prompts calls for urgent funding for 20,000 additional home packages and warnings that a two-speed system is locking out poorer elderly people. The Albanese government lost its first parliamentary vote of the new term on Monday afternoon, when the Senate voted to establish an inquiry into delays for home care packages, including unmet needs and the wellbeing of seniors waiting for assistance. Proposed by the ACT independent David Pocock, the vote was supported by the Greens and the Coalition, and comes after the aged care minister, Sam Rae, rejected calls to bring forward an additional 20,000 home care packages. Labor's reforms to the sector, originally slated to come into force from 1 July, have been pushed back to November, delaying the release of more than 80,000 home care packages. More than 87,000 elderly people are on the waitlist for care at home, with wait times up to 15 months. Labor has promised an end to lengthy delays by 2027, with maximum wait times of 90 days. Sign up: AU Breaking News email 'There is a huge human cost to delaying the release of more home care packages,' Pocock said. 'For some people that means being stuck in hospital longer because they can't get the support they need to return home safely. For others it means entering residential aged care earlier than they otherwise would have, others are struggling at home without the help they need.' The push follows warnings from the sector that Labor's changes risk squeezing out elderly people with limited financial means. Tracey Burton, chief executive of Uniting NSW and ACT, told Guardian Australia early this month equitable access for poorer Australians remains an unmet promise of changes passed by parliament last year. After a royal commission and a taskforce report to the federal government, Labor introduced new rules requiring wealthier people to pay more for their care and boosting access to support services for people who choose to stay in their own home. Residents who can afford to pay for their own care do so using a payment known as a refundable accommodation deposit (RAD). The average RAD is $470,000, with the lump sum refunded to family members when a resident dies. Elderly people whose care is paid for by the government rely on a supported accommodation supplement, worth $70 per day. The Greens aged care spokesperson, Penny Allman-Payne, is set to chair the Senate inquiry. She said the difference in value between RADs and supported placements, combined with a shortage of available residential beds and a rationing of home care packages, has led to fears of a two-tier system. 'You shouldn't have to be a millionaire just to guarantee care in your old age, but that's exactly what's at risk from Labor's new aged care system. 'Far from fixing the residential aged care system, Labor's changes coming this November mean wealthier homeowners may soon be worth twice as much in revenue to an aged care facility as an older person who lives week to week.' In a letter to crossbench MPs, Rae said the government acknowledged high demand for home care places, and said it was expected to continue up to November. But he rebuffed calls for bringing forward extra places. 'We also recognise that waiting to access a [home care package] has a real impact on older people and their families, as well as on the care providers. 'The Support at Home program is designed to bring down wait times for care and deliver more tailored support, giving older people the flexibility and choice to stay at home for longer.' Demand for aged care services is expected to surge, with the country on track for a doubling of people over 65 and a tripling of those aged over 85 within 40 years.
BBC News
5 hours ago
- BBC News
UN chief urges Australia to aim higher as it debates climate goals
The UN's climate chief has urged Australia to take more ambitious climate action, as debate over the country's emissions reduction targets heats up in parliament."Bog standard is beneath you," Simon Stiell told the country, arguing "colossal" economic rewards could be reaped by aiming higher. Australia has pledged to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030, but remains one of the world's biggest polluters per capita and faces criticism for continuing to rely on fossil Stiell's comments came as a bill to overturn the nation's goal of net zero emissions by 2050 was moved by an opposition MP in parliament, and the Labor government considers a new reduction target for the next decade - 2035. Speaking at an event hosted by independent industry body the Smart Energy Council, Mr Stiell called the fresh 2035 target - due to be announced in September - a "defining moment" for these targets, also known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), is part of the country's obligation under the Paris Climate Agreement. The 2015 pledge saw world leaders agree to keep global temperatures from rising 1.5C above those of the late 19th Century."Go for what's smart by going big," Mr Stiell said, warning that a failure to do so risks eroding regional stability and living standards."Consider the alternative: missing the opportunity and letting the world overheat," he a few hours earlier, former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce - who is known for his climate change skepticism - introduced legislation to wind back the country's current net zero goals, arguing that it would have "absolutely no effect on the climate whatsoever".Australia has in recent years grappled with successive natural disasters, and climate experts warn that the country - along with the rest of the globe - faces a future full of similar crises unless dramatic cuts to emissions are bill is all but doomed to fail, as the Labor government has a large majority in the House of Representatives and members of the National MP's own party disagree with it is likely to increase pressure on the coalition - made up of the Liberal and National parties - as they reassess their climate and energy policies following a bruising election defeat in change has been a huge theme of the past few elections in Minister Anthony Albanese came to power in 2022, promising to take greater action, but his Labor government has been criticised for its continued support of coal and gas country is currently seeking to co-host the UN's COP31 climate summit with the Pacific next year.
