Wildlife rescuer calls for councils to draw up koala plan
A wildlife rescuer has called for “less talk and more action” to protect koala populations in Holsworthy and Moorebank as their habitats increasingly come under threat.
Liverpool
Don't miss out on the headlines from Liverpool. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A wildlife rescuer has called for “less talk and more action” to protect koala populations in Holsworthy and Moorebank as their habitats increasingly come under threat.
Ricardo Lonza, founder of Facebook page Help Save the Wildlife and Bushlands in Campbelltown, says more needs to be done to protect koalas living in Liverpool’s eastern suburbs through to Campbelltown, Appin and beyond.
Mr Lonza is calling on Liverpool, Campbelltown and Wollondilly councils to come together and create a management plan to prevent koala numbers from declining.
“Being the only known disease-free koala population, councils should be getting together and coming up with a strategy on how we can protect the koalas,” he said.
Mr Lonza said koala numbers in the southwest weren’t getting any higher with road fatalities, dog attacks and the ever-present threat of urban sprawl leading to habitat loss.
He said the causeway near Moorebank Ave and Heathcote Rd were the main roadways in Liverpool where koalas were killed by traffic.
“The connectivity between bushland is broken by road,” he said, adding the only way koalas could move between habitats was to cross the road.
Koala protection fencing should be a priority to steer koalas to overpasses and underpasses, he said.
“Where development is and where koala habitat is we should be putting koala fencing.
“Because koala habitats have been destroyed and wildlife have been destroyed, koalas do come into suburbia.”
Two weeks ago, a female koala and her joey were sighted in a street in Wattle Grove. Mr Lonza said the recent bushfires in Holsworthy had destroyed much of their food source.
“It’s going to take months, even years, for the trees to become edible again.”
The State Government recently announced a $45 million program over three years to address the decline of koala numbers in NSW.
The NSW Koala Strategy outlines plans for new reserves for koalas on state forest land, community workshops, a koala hospital at Port Stephens and a monitoring program.
An Office of Environment and Heritage spokeswoman said it was undertaking a survey of koalas in the Campbelltown LGA including Holsworthy Barracks. Future survey work will include Moorebank.
“The surveys and data collected will inform the Saving our Species (SOS) program on how best to direct future investment to help koalas in the Campbelltown LGA and aims to estimate the number of koalas in the study area,” she said.
“The surveys are also carrying out key commitments under the NSW Koala Strategy to improve knowledge and understanding of koalas, where they live, the threats they face and how best to protect and save them.”
Mr Lonza said it was a good first step but more needs to be done in the southwest.
“We know the koalas are here. To have an estimate of numbers would be good but what we need is protection of koalas.”