Legal bid to silence aerial snipers shooting koalas in Budj Bim National Park

Supreme Court action is being taken in a bid to stop the controversial shooting of koalas from helicopters in Budj Bim National Park.

An animal charity has launched legal action in a bid to halt the aerial shooting of koalas in the state’s west.

Australians for Animals has filed for a judicial review in the Victorian Supreme Court, seeking an order quashing the authorisation to shoot the koalas in Budj Bim National Park between Portland and Hamilton.

More than 1100 of the native animals are reported to have been shot by helicopter snipers in the past two months.

Australians for Animals spokeswoman Sue Arnold said the precedent set by the order was unacceptable and was also a “shocking indictment of the Victorian government’s cruelty to wildlife’’.

“The Victorian government has a shameful history of koala massacres. The slaughter of koalas by helicopter marksmen is indefensible.

“It is simply impossible to kill koalas from 30m with a clean shot.’’

Ms Arnold said no ground checks are undertaken to establish whether any koalas or joeys were left wounded.

More than 1100 koalas are reported to have been shot by aerial snipers in Budj Bim Park. Picture: Supplied

State environment officials have said that the aerial shooting aimed to euthanise animals which were sick, dehydrated or starving after a bushfire in the 5470ha park in March.

But Bleyer Lawyers, acting for the charity, are now seeking a declaration that the shooting authorisation and the decision by Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) secretary John Bradley was unlawful and invalid.

A DEECA spokesperson said It would be inappropriate to comment on matters associated with pending legal proceedings.

Last month Premier Jacinta Allan defended the department’s decision, saying it was made after extensive assessments and that many koalas were in distress.

Animal welfare groups have claimed that logging of blue gum plantations near Budj Bim has driven koala overpopulation in the park.

Budj Bim National Park in the state’s west. Picture: Supplied

Airborne shooting has been used for deer and horse culls in Victoria before but the latest operation is believed to be the first time koalas have been targeted by this method.

Wildlife carers raised concerns about the welfare of pouch-young left in koala carcasses.

Animal Justice Party MP Georgie Purcell said many Victorians were disgusted to learn of what native koalas were being subjected to at Budj Bim.

Georgie Purcell, Animal Justice Party MP, has condemned the aerial shooting. Picture: David Crosling

“It should never be acceptable to blast an animal from the sky. The government and the department failed to act with transparency and they should be held accountable.

“I stand by Australians for Animals in their quest for justice and answers.’’

Ms Arnold said Australia was gaining a national and international reputation as a nation that causes suffering, neglect and trauma to its native wildlife.

“The Victorian government’s authorisation of the Budj Bim koala killing only adds to the global disgust,” she said.