Ohh, I love koalas so much, it's my favorite Australian anima, and I don't want to see it go extinct.
Posted on 09/25/2009 2:06:10 AM PDT by myknowledge
Conservationists have delivered five dead koalas to Queensland's Parliament House, saying the marsupials are on the brink of extinction in urban Australia.
A hearse on Friday delivered five coffins each bearing a dead koala, with protesters placing the open caskets on the footpath outside parliament in Brisbane.
The dead marsupials were collected by Vanda Grabowski in the Moreton Bay region of southern Queensland.
She said the frozen bodies were brought to Brisbane to emphasise the plight of the koalas in southeast Queensland and in other parts of Australia.
"I have a permit through Queensland Park and Wildlife Service (QPWS) who threatened me with arrest should I do this (display them in public)," Ms Grabowski told AAP.
"These are koalas that have have been hit by cars, starved, diseased or attacked by dogs.
"I keep them in my freezer when I pick them up because by law we have to hand them over (to QPWS) and if they're handed over they are hidden from view."
Rally spokeswoman Carolyn Beaton said there had been 25,000 recorded koala deaths in southeast Queensland - the fastest growing region in Australia - over the past decade.
Ms Beaton said rapid development in other parts of the country, particularly along the east coast, was also threatening koala habitat.
"This rally will show our politicians and indeed the world that Australia does care about its wildlife and we, as Australians, will not stand by and let the rest of our koalas be wiped out," she said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Queensland government on Friday announced it would protect 5.6 hectares of state-owned koala habitat at Alexandra Hills.
State Climate Change Minister Kate Jones said the land, located on Windemere Road and of high commercial value, would be handed over to Redland City Council.
The government is currently drafting a state planning policy aimed at protecting koalas to halt their declining numbers and recently completed a koala mapping project.
Ohh, I love koalas so much, it's my favorite Australian anima, and I don't want to see it go extinct.
Don't worry, this is just a stunt. They are not anywhere near extinct in Australia. In fact they have so many on Kangaroo Island in South Australia they have reaping havoc on the native gums and they have been exporting some by air to the mainland and sterilizing others.
There a couple of organizations that use koalas just to raise money.
Don’t be concerned, Myknowledge. The greenies and animal libbers who exploit the genuine concern of those like yourself are pathological liars. Koalas aren’t even endangered.
“Don’t be concerned, Myknowledge. The greenies and animal libbers who exploit the genuine concern of those like yourself are pathological liars. Koalas aren’t even endangered.”
Thank you! I can smell the fresh air you just injected into the discussion.
Not surprised at all if dead koalas vote liberals.
I know (although koalas are my favorite Australian animals).
The “Liberal Party” in Oz is the conservative party. The “Labor Party” is the liberal party in the terms you use —go figure!
I don’t know where you get your facts from but the koala was declared regionally vulnerable in SEQ in March 2004 after scientists proved that over 30% of the koala population had died in a decade. A major koala survey was conducted in 2001. Subsequent surveys done in Redlands (the Koala Coast) and Moreton Bay Regional Council were done in 2007 and 2008. These were conducted in the same areas as the first surveys and the results compared.
In addition, annual surveys were conducted in the above regions every year. These statistics were submitted to local, state and federal government bodies. What came out of the statistical analysis was that an additional 67% decline in the koala population occurred in Redlands (the Koala Coast) and a 47% decline in the koala population in the Moreton Bay Regional Council area since the surveys conducted in 2001.
After the fires in Victoria and South Australia I would posit that koalas are no longer common anywhere in their natural range. This is not the view of radical greenies or rabid environmentalists. Scientists from the University of Queensland and the Queensland University of Technology have confirmed these results.
You are absolutely wrong, the fires did little damages to the koalas in South Australia and koalas are still very common.
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