Koalas ‘starved, killed’ in Victorian timber logging operation
Scores of koalas have been found dead or injured after timber harvesting on privately-held land in southwest Victoria.
Scores of koalas have been found dead or injured after timber harvesting on privately-held land in southwest Victoria.
Authorities say it is understood at least 40 koalas either starved or were killed during logging at Cape Bridgewater, near Portland.
Victorian Chief Conservation Regulator Kate Gavens said an investigation was underway into the situation, which seems to involve starvation and possibly injuries from timber harvesting.
“It is a live situation but we are looking at least 40 animals (dead) at this stage and we expect that number to increase,” Ms Gavens told reporters on Monday.
“There are a diverse range of issues here, one of them is starvation and ... potentially, injuries from the harvesting of timber on the site.” About 80 koalas have been assessed on-site and taken into care by authorities. “We continue to assess animals on site. We expect to be there for a number of days to ensure that all animals are cared for and removed from the site,” Ms Gavens said.
Environment Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the large, privately-owned site had contracting work to remove vegetation and the owner is understood to have undertaken further clearance works.
“I don’t think anyone can be in any doubt that the devastation that has befallen many koalas in this part of Portland is an abysmal act,” she said. “It is a crime, it is cruel and it should not be allowed to be gotten away with.” Environment department staff have been at the site since Friday investigating the circumstances surrounding the koala deaths and injuries. Environmental group Friends of the Earth previously claimed there had been reports of hundreds of starving koalas during a logging harvest completed in late December 2019.
The group said on Sunday that people had seen dead koalas being bulldozed into slash piles in the days prior.
The landowners are cooperating with authorities, Ms Gavens said. Ms D’Ambrosio promised Victorians the perpetrators would be hit with the full force of the law and any other penalties available to the regulator over the incident.
“This can never be repeated again,” she said.
Koalas are at risk of being listed as endangered following the bushfires, with habitats lost across Australia.
AAP
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