Posted on 01/20/2010 7:47:00 PM PST by myknowledge
A GUNMAN shot a koala in a tree then finished it off with more rounds after it fell to the ground west of Melbourne today.
Police said the incident happened at Hopetoun Park, near Bacchus Marsh west of Melbourne, where a blue four-wheel-drive utility pulled up beside a tree on the Werribee River at 7:50am (AEDT) today, the Herald Sun reports.
A witness has told investigators three men climbed from the vehicle and one of them shot the animal as it sat on a branch.
It was blasted two more times after crashing to the ground.
(Excerpt) Read more at perthnow.com.au ...
Doug the koala. He and his mother were shot down from a tree, then shot twice on the ground by a sick koala killer with a slug gun. Sick sick sick!
Koalas are my favorite Australian animals! Only a koala hater or a future serial killer would do this.
How sad...
My daughter and I visited Australia last May and have the most beautiful photos holding koalas.
I hope they catch the SOB’s that did this and give them the max.
God,what a world.
Sickening! I hope they catch this scumbag. Nothing irks me more than people harming defenseless animals for no reason.
They are so cute, aren’t they?
They want to harm defenseless animals like koalas for target practice, hatred, letting off steam or just to satisfy their sadistic tendencies.
They don’t smell too good and you wouldn’t want to handle a male while the girls are in heat but this should not be enough for anyone to shoot them.
Yes they are extremely cute to look at.
Mel
the idiot probably figured that they tasted like chicken...pathetic
Cute yes but they aren’t the most cuddly since they have somewhat large sharp claws. One hopes they don’t use them if you are holding them. Usually they are generally sedate animals.
“They are so cute, aren’t they?”
Just darling! If I knew how to post a photo, I would. The one with my daughter holding one named Princess is absolutley beautiful!
Wow! They really like koalas in Oz. I thought they banned guns down there.
Sick bastards probably smoked some dope, got the munchies, and thought he was shooting some gummy bears. This is a sick world we live in.
The 'gun ban' in Australia has been greatly exaggerated. We have universal licencing and registration and there are restrictions on the ownership of weapons considered to be powerful, but a law abiding citizen has very little trouble getting a basic A/B longarm licence allowing them to own non-automatic or semi-automatic rifles and shotguns, and you can get licences to own semi-automatics or handguns as well, if you are willing to jump through some hoops.
All Australian native animals are protected by law although some can be hunted in some areas (kangaroos for example) and a lot of non-native animals can be hunted (foxes, rabbits, deer, and wild pigs, for example). Native animals are an important feature of our tourist injury.
tourist injury?
I know you meant industry :)
The soft fuzzy-looking fur wasn't. It felt like a bristle brush. And every time I shifted position while holding it, the koala must have thought it was in a tree that was blowing back and forth ... out came the claws to ensure that it had a good hold.
Ouch ...
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