Wildlife activists call for the immediate halt to logging after footage of dead Koalas. Source: Lutz Fischer-Lamprecht, Wikimedia Commons.
Forest and wildlife activists call for the immediate halt to logging after footage emerged of koalas falling to their deaths from treetops on a plantation in Kangaroo Island.
The footage shows koalas clinging to trees being felled, causing the koalas to fall to the ground.
The video was captured by whistleblowers, who alleged that workers at the company would disregard instructions to leave trees that had been marked with tape by spotters to which trees contained koalas.
“The harvesters are supposed to leave eight trees around a tree containing a koala but there were many found suffering to death where taped trees had been felled,” one ex-employee said.
Another whistleblower claimed that harvesting operations were sometimes conducted without a spotter at all, and workers had to collect injured koalas from cleared lots.
“I went in there and collected all the koalas I could get,” they alleged. “There were definitely dead koalas on the ground and the next day they were gone.”
Katie Welz, President of Welfare group Kangaroo Island Wildlife Network, was given several of the injured marsupials and said hundreds of the animals are estimated to have died as a result to their severe injuries.
“We have koalas being injured, orphaned, displaced and killed by logging practices on a weekly basis and we are frustrated and astounded at the lack of guidance from government on this issue,” Welz said.
Kiland, the contractor of Australian Agribusiness Group (AAG), voluntarily stopped all operations after the release of the footage.
In a statement, Kiland said the koala welfare policies were in place to protect the local koala population, especially after the ruin and loss from the bushfires in 2020.
Minister Susan Close told ABC Radio that she was “rushing” to implement regulations that will stop logging that do not adhere to standard protocols of the National Parks and Wildlife Act.
“[The company was] committed to responsible environmental stewardship. . . [and had] . . . practices in place in relation to the welfare of local wildlife on Kangaroo Island, including koalas,” said a spokesperson for the AGG.
“If any party raises concerns with us or provides any evidence that our practices aren’t compliant those concerns will be thoroughly investigated.
“We have suspended harvesting pending a review of our koala management plan.”
Last year, NSW halted logging in 106 koala hubs as they weighed the impacts on the endangered koalas.
Wildlife activists hope the government will dedicate the same efforts to stop logging in South Australia.
