Australian government authorities slaughtered and probably killed several hundred helicopters in Budj Bim National Park. The government says it is for the good of animals.
The koala is a National icon of Australia. And in some parts of the country, these marsupials, known for their cute ears, lovely clinging babies and eucalyptus diet, are in extinction.
In the last two decades, the size of its population in some areas has fallen to half, says.
It may seem strange, therefore, that the Government is slaughtering them from the trees. From helicopters. In a national park.
Earlier this month, the government authorities slaughtered and probably killed several hundred colas from helicopters in Budj Bim National Park, an area protected in the state of Victoria in the south of the country.
Some animal welfare advocates are alarmed. The government, however, says that It is for the benefit of the koalas.
But ultimately, the death of these animals points to much larger problems, including climate change – which require agencies that generate wildlife to make incredibly difficult choices.
Why is the Australian government killing koalas?
In March, a huge forest fire burned more than 5,400 in the park, injuring some koalas and Destroying a large amount of eucalyptus leavesyour food.
The Australian government says the controversial animal slaughtering program is intended to end the suffering of the koalasdue to burns and hunger. But some activists and organizations for the defense of animal rights say that There is more than that in history.
The animals They are not just starving because of the fire, but because the Tree slaughtering and development They destroyed much of their habitat in Victoria.
Activists also point out that there is Eucalyptus commercial plantations Blue Gum around Budj Bim National Park, on which the koalas depend.
When these plantations are slaughtered, the koalas who live in them move For Budj Bim, Exercising pressure on natural forests that remain in the park. A fire only worsens the situation – destroying food in a region with a dense koala population.
“This incident is just one more in the long line of mismanagement of the species and its habitat,” explains Rolf SchobplothKeying investigator at Cquniversity Australia, in an email sent to Vox.
“We cannot completely eliminate the fires forests ”, notes the investigator,“but more continuous and healthy forests They can help reduce the risk and severity of the fires. ”
Schlagloth and other Koalas experts are also skeptical as to the fact that firing on animals from helicopters be the best approach.
When animals are seriously injured, euthanasia It is often the human answer, they say, but Must be the last resource. And an air slaughter “seems to be a very indiscriminate method,” said Schlagloth.
Australia also has a long history of management of your animals Wild, both native and non-native, killing them. In addition, the term “euthanasia”It is a little exaggerated, because it implies that the animals were killed without pain – something that firing a helicopter cannot guaranteeVox note.
“Rescue should always be the first optionif possible, ”says Schlagloth.
Rescue the koalasor evaluate your state of health closely, It was not viable, According to the government of Victoria.
“All other methods that were considered are not appropriategiven the inability to access safely to large areas of the affected landscape on foot, ”explains James ToddDirector of Biodiversity of the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (Deeda) of Victoria, in statements to Vox.
These difficulties are due to remote animal locationoften at the top of the treetops, to extremely rugged land And taking into account the safety risks of working in an area affected by fire, Todd adds.
The Deeda is consulting an experienced wildlife veterinarian, and only koalas under extremely precarious conditions will be subjected to euthanasia, the agency told Vox. “Work” is underway, said the spokesman, suggesting that More koalas can be killed.
It is easy to blame the government of Victoria For these koala deaths – and perhaps even deserves some guilt. However, when the fire broke out, there were no good options to help park animals without solving more fundamental problems.
A Habitat loss is one of the main problemsas well as climate change, which are one of the dynamics that make forest fires more frequent and harmful in Australia.
One, published in 2023 in Environmental Technology & Innovationconcluded that about 40% of the coala habitat is highly susceptible to fires And that this percentage will increase in the coming decadesas the planet warms up.
At the end of 2019 and early 2020, catastrophic fires devastated the east of Australia, killing or moving about 3 billion animalsincluding about 60,000 koals. Scientists say climate change has made the conditions for these fires more likely.
