Koala Officially Listed As ‘Endangered’ Species By Australia

Australia’s koala has been officially designated an endangered species across three states and territories as habitat loss, disease and climate change cause rapid declines in populations of the iconic marsupial.

The koala is now “endangered” in New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory, the Australian government said on Friday. Environment minister Sussan Ley said the listing highlighted “the challenges the species is facing” and pledged to work toward a national recovery plan for koalas.

Environmental groups have blamed the federal government for repeatedly failing to take action to protect the koala from extinction. There are fewer than 500,000 left in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, while the Australian Koala Foundation says the real number could be below 60,000.

Koala populations have plunged in recent years due to the clearing of their habitats for development and agriculture, while widespread chlamydia infections among adults have caused infertility and death. Climate change-related disasters have also put koalas under pressure, with more than 60,000 estimated to have died in the catastrophic 2019-20 bushfire season. 

A report delivered to the New South Wales government in June 2020 found that if no additional support was given, koalas could be extinct in the state by 2050.The Australian Conservation Foundation claimed that since the koala was declared “vulnerable” ten years ago, the federal government has approved the clearing of more than 25,000 hectares (61,800 acres) of the animals’ habitat. 

“Australia’s national environment laws are so ineffective they have done little to stem the ongoing destruction of koala habitat in Queensland and NSW since the species was supposedly protected a decade ago,” ACF nature campaign manager Basha Stasak said in a statement.

The government announced A$50 million ($36 million) to protect koalas on Jan. 29, including funding for habitat protection and population monitoring, but some environmental groups said it was just a “drop in the ocean” of what was needed.

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[musicbox-id]

Poor Koala.. They endangered because of human being..

[C.Fecteau-AU-MJ]

I have some ideas that I think can help our furry, stoned little mates... I'll paste some from a conversation, hopefully it makes sense.

The eradication of feral cats, foxes and other invasive species should be a national priority, with resource allocation akin to war times... This should be followed up with a reforestation campaign of unviable farm land and other clear felled areas on a massive scale. The goal being to get the country as close as is practically possible to pre colonisation.

I know it's an almost impossible task, but with the kinds of technology we've used to dig up the minerals and improve agriculture productivity to truly staggering levels; I think it could be done.

It's also worth remembering that as time goes on, there's going to plenty people looking for meaningful work due to automation redundancy and many of them will possess the skills required to undertake such a large scale endeavour.
I also think there's a market for using the animals that will need to be culled for all sorts of animal products; such as furs, leathers, pet and even human feeds. Which besides creating more skilled employment opportunities, it's far more respectful to both the animals and the country than just wasting them.
I think if we're really serious about climate change and the protection of endangered species, this is the only way forward and it could make a real difference globally.

Obviously I've been thinking about this a lot, for almost three years I've been gathering it into a coherent and well researched proposal, to try to get people excited about something like this for our future... Because God knows Australia is facing some turbulent times ahead, as we all will be and I believe this is exactly what our country needs.

As the focus on COVID subsides, I'm beginning to put my ideas in front of the right people and hopefully over the next few months they start make waves in the industrial sectors that would have a stake in such an idea.

I believe it'll work and looking at the current situation, I believe it'll happen in the not too distant future.

[jasonl]

Maybe if they didn't allow them to be plowed down along with the forests with complete disregard for life this wouldn't be happening 😤💔😡

[garyweightman]

Stock market tanking every day and tank big on Fridays.