‘Koala Massacre’: Australia After Hundreds of Charges Filed


MELBOURNE, Australia — An Australian landowner and two companies were hit on hundreds of animal cruelty charges after a land clearing operation killed 70 koalas last year, in an episode that one lawmaker described as a “massacre”.

Authorities discovered dozens of dead, injured or starving koalas on private property in Cape Bridgewater, southwest Victoria, in February last year, after the state’s conservation regulator and a forest and earthmoving business cleared their habitat. said in a statement Wednesday.

The organizer said the operation caused damage to more than 200 koalas, causing “unreasonable pain or suffering to dozens of people”.

Animal activists said the trees were still bulldozed with koalas inside them.

“Some were killed instantly, their corpses were found under heavy branches or scattered among fallen piles of trees.” By conservation group Animals AustraliaHe sent veterinarians to the scene. “Some suffered traumatic injuries and broken bones. Some were orphaned, while others were found huddled together in a few remaining trees in the field.”

Authorities found 21 dead koalas in the area, and 49 koalas who were starving, dehydrated or suffering from fractures needed to be euthanized. Seventy more koalas were treated as injured, and 120 koalas were released back into the wild.

The deaths sparked national outrage when the deaths were first reported by a resident on social media, and the Victorian state government swore He said those responsible will be punished.

The property owner and business have been charged with more than 250 animal cruelty offenses, including 36 aggravated cruelty charges for causing fatal injuries. Another contracting company was also sued for persecution. Authorities did not identify the land owner or businesses.

The case is scheduled to appear in court in February. The maximum penalty for aggravated animal cruelty charge that leads to death is $157,000 for a business and $65,500 for an individual, or two years in prison.

Andy Meddick, Member of the Animal Justice Party for the state of Victoria, aforementioned He was “relieved” as “hundreds of charges were filed for the Cape Bridgewater koala massacre.” “I personally visited the site and saw the aftermath, and it was one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced,” he added.

Koalas are a protected species in Australia and marsupials are listed as vulnerable in the states of New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory. Their numbers were severely affected. disaster 2019 fires Millions of acres burned in this country. there were many rescued, sang and thirsty, wild.

As koalas evolve to adapt to wildfires, the animals face new threats from climate change and human development that displace local populations and impair their ability to survive fires. Scientists have estimated that koala numbers in some areas up to 80 percent decreaseAlthough it is difficult to know how many people are left across Australia.

They also susceptible to chlamydiacan cause infertility and death. Some studies of koala populations in Queensland suggest that at least half of koala populations wild koalas they get sick.

This shared sensitivity with humans has led some scientists to argue that studying and protecting koalas could be the key to developing a chlamydia vaccine for humans.

Last year, Australian The government has launched an effort to enumerate the population of native marsupials and record where they live – a daunting process because koalas are not easy to spot in the wild. When marsupials are at the top of trees, dormant and hidden by canopy, they are easy to miss with the naked eye. That’s why the government commissioned heat-seeking drones, acoustic surveys, and detector dogs.



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