The State Government in Australia began investigating the death of dozens of koalas found bulldozed into a blue gum plantation in Victoria’s southwest Feb. 2, sparking outrage among Australians and worldwide. Officers from the environmental department investigated the timber plantation near Cape Bridgewater, according to ABC.
Portland resident Helen Oakley, 63, first alerted authorities Wednesday after finding the koalas while hiking in the area. “Australia should be ashamed,” she says in the video. “They’ve bulldozed 140 acres down and just killed all of our koalas.” According to ABC, Oakley found ten dead koalas at the property since Wednesday and dozens more trapped in two isolated stretches of gum trees on the property, reported Daily Mail.
Victoria’s Animal Justice Party MP Andy Meddick has also assessed damage on the ground since Sunday morning. “It is absolutely abhorrent,” he said. “They have been felling these trees with wildlife still in them; they have been bulldozing these trees into piles that run the length of the property.” A triage of four veterinarians alongside animal rescuers were sent by the environment department. Meddick asserted he would push for a full parliamentary inquiry, according to BBC.
“Some of them were fairly decomposed, so they’ve been sitting there for a while,” said Oakley. She said she counted some 70 to 80 still alive in the trees. She found one with a broken arm. Department of Environment incident controller Andrew Pritchard said 25 koalas had to be euthanized so far and that about 120 of the koalas on site had been assessed. Efforts are focused on helping surviving koalas who will be rehabilitated at a later stage. Figures on the number of dead remain undisclosed.
Pritchard said it was not unusual to find koalas in freshly-felled timber due to its high sugar content. “Koalas are very much attracted to that,” he said. “I’m not clear on exactly if that was the case.” Residents know, however, that if that were the case, it would have been the responsibility of those caring for the land to know the animals would be present.
Penalties will be applied for the killing and disturbing of wildlife.
First published in print by The Stillman Exchange on February 14, 2020.
