Koala slaughter on a plantation in Australia: they were killed by bulldozers during the clearing of the area, a tragedy within a tragedy.
The fires weren't enough to slaughter Australia's koala population, now humans are involved too!
80 koala they were barbarously killed from bulldozers duringfelling of a eucalyptus forest.
It happened in Brightwater Cape and now the authorities of the Australian state of Victoria, in the south of the country, are investigating to identify the culprits, while government employees and activists try to save what is possible, caring for the miraculously surviving koalas, some injured, others. strongly hungry.
Friends, there is a distressing situation unfolding in Victoria and it has nothing to do with bushfires. Heartbreaking photos of injured and dead koalas from a razed Bluegum Plantation in Portland are circulating across social media. [thread] pic.twitter.com/vLOz0WH1xt
— Animals Australia (@AnimalsAus) February 1, 2020
Environmental NGO Friends of the Earth researcher Anthony Amis was warned of the logging by locals, who had spotted an excavator stacking koalas to form a rotting-smelling funeral pyre. Unfortunately Friends of the Earth points out that it is not the first time that similar things have happened in the state of Victoria and fears that thousands of animals have died in similar situations, even if no one has ever reported them.
Helen Oakley, a resident of Portland, posted a video on facebook in which she describes, desperately, the tragedy she encountered on a hike and stated that her country should be ashamed of this havoc:
"Australia should be ashamed, they demolished 140 acres of land and just killed all our koalas."
https://www.facebook.com/helen.oakley.140/videos/10157679911540708/
The lady told ABC News that she found 10 dead koalas and saw 70 to 80 live koalas trapped in trees.
Andrew Pritchard, from the Department of the Environment, said 25 koalas have so far been euthanized and that about half of the koalas found on site have been monitored.
Chief Executive Ross Hampton said those who work in the forestry sector are "shocked ... by what appears to be a callous act of animal cruelty." Hampton also said it is unclear who demolished the trees.
The eucalyptus trees are currently known to have been felled by a company called "Midway" and later handed over to a local owner. During the culling, many koalas were run over and killed, although the company denies the allegations.
Victoria Justice Animal Party MP Andy Meddick said what happened was repulsive:
“It is absolutely repulsive. They cut down these trees with koalas still on them; they then demolished these trees into huge piles that run the length of the property. We are still going through these fires in East Gippsland - we have lost a huge amount of animals ”.
Plantation companies are required to seek authorization in similar cases under the Wildlife Act, precisely to protect any animals, and must assess the risks to koalas. In these circumstances, Meddick suspects that there have been violations of legislation, including the law on the prevention of cruelty to animals. On facebook he specified that he will undertake to have the perpetrators punished:
“The property is now a crime scene. But I will make sure that those responsible are punished. But he doesn't stop there. We need structural changes in the way we see our native animals, or this brutality will continue to happen. "
As I said on The Project tonight:This is an absolutely horrendous thing to have done.It’s that simple.The property…
Posted by Andy Meddick MP on Monday, February 3, 2020
And to think that this area was considered one of the safest in Australia for koalas, which have already had to deal with the massacres due to fires. The disappearance of this space is therefore a tragedy within a tragedy, and according to activists it could have serious repercussions on the future of this endangered species.
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Photo Credit: facebook/foe.org/twitter
