Save the Koala...later

Yesterday amidst the excitement of the Melbourne Cup, Federal Environment Minister Tony Burke announced that he was postponing his decision on whether the add koalas to the national threatened list. The announcement was due by the end of October, however he has moved the date back to 17 February 2012. I just hope he isn't overwhelmed with Valentine's Day festivities to get distracted again!

Minister Burke says he requires extra time to consider the new information and to seek further advice from the Threatened Species Scientific Committee in light of new population data recently acquired. However CEO of the Australian Koala Foundation believes that Minister Burke plans to "appease the Victorian Government to not list the koala because it will upset logging interests in that State. It is also interesting to note that the New South Wales State Minister has recently said that 'logging is good for koalas'."

To read the full reaction of the CEO Deborah Tabart OAM visit this page: https://www.savethekoala.com/deborahtabartsdesk.html

Is Australia losing it's koalas?

Today National Geographic News published a story explaining how Australia is at risk of losing all koalas. Click here for the full story.

I must admit that koala conservation isn't something I had heard a lot about. I completed a search on the Australian sites of WWF and Greenpeace and not much came up. IUCN lists koalas as Least Concern but the US Fish and Wildlife Service has declared them as a threatened species. Looking at Australian listings and it seems as though the Federal Government currently has them as not threatened. In the four states where they are found Queensland and Victoria state they are thriving, South Australia says they are rare about from on Kangaroo Island and New South Wales lists koalas as as vulnerable, but varying regionally from secure to locally extinct.

The Australian Koala Foundation, a non-profit, non-government organisation dedicated to the conservation and effective management of the wild koala and its habitat, states on their website that koalas definitely are threatened. From recent research it appears that about 43,000 to 80,000 koalas remain in the wild. Find out more from them at www.savethekoala.com

It is clear that research needs to be carried out to get a clear picture on koalas populations. The threats to the population are many including habitat loss for housing, road accidents, dog attacks, bush fires and chlamydia. None of these factors are on the decline so the need for this research is immediate. This is clearly recommended in the Senate Inquiry: http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/ec_ctte/koalas/report/index.htm

If Australians aren't going to save the koala, the country might as well close down the AFL, take Weet-bix and Vegemite of the breakfast table and get rid of our thongs and BBQs!

A new documentary covering caring for koalas:
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