In the heart of the Victoria, one of the Australian States, A massacre is underway that very little is being talked about. In recent weeks, hundreds of Koala have been demolished by helicopters, with rifle strokes. More than 700 animals – belonging to a species already declared “at risk of extinction” in 2022 – were killed by spiings chosen on the mandate of the state government. The motivation? Reduce the suffering of injured and hungry animals following the fires that devastated over 2,000 hectares of natural habitat.
But the reality, according to local associations, is decidedly more raw and controversial than that.
According to the Deeca (Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action), the demolition was necessary to relieve the suffering of injured or hungry animals. And also Prime Minister Jacinta Allan, interviewed by Sky News Australia, justified the operation by declaring that the affected Koalas were already seriously injured by the fires and paid in critical conditions.
However, the method adopted – hitting animals from above, in flight, with chosen shooters – has been rightly criticized. How can you establish, from a moving helicopter, if a Koala is really sick or in difficulty? Activists denounce that many perfectly healthy specimens, including mothers with the little ones in the baby carrier, were killed by mistake.
Puppies left to die alone
The testimonies that come from the NGOs on the field make shiver. Joey, Koala’s puppies, are left without mothers, condemned to die of hunger or cold. The Koala Alliance organization has openly spoke of unacceptable cruelty.
To worsen the situation, the rescuers were prevented from accessing the affected areas. The roads were closed, surveillance systems installed, and no independent observer has been authorized to check the field conditions. Friends of the Earth Melbourne denounced the absence of transparency and asked for the immediate suspension of the felling and a review by third party experts.
This It is the first time that the Koalas are knocked down by helicopters in Australia, and the fear is that a dangerous precedent is being created. Koalas are a species already classified as “in danger” in different areas of the country, including Queensland and the new South Wales. Instead of protecting what remains of these fragile populations, the authorities seem more worried by the management of plantations and the collection of the Blue Gum (Eucalyptus Globulus), the tree on which the Koala depend to feed and survive.
Activists ask for an independent review of the entire operation, the suspension of the air demolishes, and above all theOpening of an ethical and scientific comparison on how to treat wildlife in moments of climatic emergency. Killing from above, without the possibility of verification or rescue, cannot and must not be the solution.
Australia has moral duty to protect its animals. And the world has a duty not to turn to the other side.
