THE Australian Koala Foundation is condemning the Victorian Government’s announcement that further koala culls may be imminent in the Cape Otway region in Victoria.
The AKF said that although culling should never be an option for koala management, it is important to note that they don’t want to see koalas suffer.
AKF chief executive officer Deborah Tabart said it was easy for the government to say culls were needed because of animal welfare but the real problem was “gross mismanagement of habitat over the last 60 years or more”.
Tabart said the koalas in Cape Otway were put in place more than 30 years ago for tourism purposes, and that the repercussions were now obvious.
“I wonder how our foreign minister feels about this cull?” said Ms Tabart.
“You cannot have it both ways, you either want to protect our national icon and its habitat and use them as ambassadors or you ruin Australia’s reputation with this disgusting cruelty.
‘It is a complex problem and there are no easy fixes. At least in this instance the Victorian minister is not saying they are pests to be eradicated. This has been the mantra from that government in my whole professional career as the koala woman.”
The AKF has made a number of recommendations to the Victorian Government regarding the koala population in the region in the past but has said its recommendations have fallen on deaf ears.
Tabart said that she visited the site of the cull in 2011 and issued a warning to the government at the time. Now, she said they’re using animal welfare as an excuse to cull.
“It is not over population of koalas; it is under population of trees and linked habitats,” she said.
“It is also important to ask why koalas in this area do not enjoy the protection of the Federal Government? When the koala was listed as a federally threatened species in May 2012, koalas in Victoria and South Australia were specifically excluded from protection,” said Tabart.
“I have asked Minister Hunt to reconsider that position.”
