Koala foundation urges immediate action to protect Victorian koalas amid habitat destruction

THE Australian Koala Foundation has issued a strong call for the urgent protection of koala habitats in Victoria, criticising the state’s Koala Management Strategy as fundamentally flawed.

Foundation Chair Deborah Tabart OAM expressed deep concern over the current strategy, labelling it a rehash of a failed 2004 plan.

“There is an inaccurate perception that Victorian koala populations are secure and always will be,” Ms Tabart said. “Koalas have unfairly copped the blame for damaging ecosystems across Victoria and have been labelled as ‘overabundant’ in some areas.”

“This prompted the brutal culling of hundreds of precious Victorian koalas, back in 2013 and 2014.”

From 2013 to 2014, around 700 koalas were quietly culled in the Cape Otway area.

“Whilst the attention of our political leaders and bureaucrats continues to be on passing the buck and shifting the blame, the fundamental problem is ignored – habitat destruction.”

Ms Tabart stressed the need for a focus shift from blame to protection.

“I have spent over 30 years of my career counting dead bodies; it’s time to count alive and healthy ones – within habitat that must be legally protected,” she said.

Koalas face multiple threats from habitat destruction, to development, bushfires, disease as well as unchecked tourism.

This newspaper has previously reported tourists eager for close-up photos of koalas in their natural habitat at Kennett River have been observed climbing trees, flying drones, shaking branches, and throwing rocks to wake sleeping koalas.

Wildlife Wonders Conservation Ecology Centre funds conservation and research projects across the Great Ocean Road region.

Chief executive Lizzie Corke said their Conservation Ecology Centre has been operating in the Otways for nearly 25 years and provided a solution to unchecked tourism,

“Qualified conservationist guides accompany visitors through the sanctuary where they encounter wildlife which are free to forage, socialise and nest naturally, protected from invasive predators,” Ms Corke said.

“The tours are conducted at set times and follow a carefully constructed path which ensures the animals have absolute agency – koalas come and go as they choose via high interconnecting branches.

“By offering a quality, curated experience, Wildlife Wonders helps to improve road safety, animal welfare, visitor experience, sustainable employment and investment in nature across the whole region.

“Better protection and management of the Australian environment is important – not only for koalas but for all biodiversity.

“Survival of individual species is dependent on resilient and connected ecosystems and communities.

“If concern for koalas can inspire action that’s positive.”

The Australian Koala Foundation is advocating for a Koala Protection Act to ensure the long-term safety of koalas by legally securing their habitats.

“There is not a single koala anywhere in Australia that is safe and secure, until their habitat is protected by law,” Tabart stated.