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Heartbreaking footage has been released showing a koala climbing a tree as it is felled by loggers.
Huge swathes of unwanted blue gums are being cleared on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, leaving large numbers of the feared iconic marsupials dead.
The video is circulating onlinewhich shows koalas clinging to falling blue gums, was taken over two days in November 2023 and January 2024.
It is understood all logging has been halted while an investigation is underway.
Wildlife activists are in despair after seeing shocking images.
Miles of unwanted blue gum are being cleared on Kangaroo Island along with hundreds of koalas high in their canopy.
Kangaroo Island Wildlife Network president Katie Welz told Daily Mail Australia the horror video brought her to tears and left her “frustrated and angry”.
In a statement, she added that “this is not about politics, it’s about animal welfare.”
“The Kangaroo Island Wildlife Network is extremely concerned about the issues affecting wildlife on the blue gum plantations… We have studied the plantation’s ‘Koala Management Plan’ and, although ambitious, it is for the “essentially unachievable,” Ms. Welz said.
“Currently, the impact of harvesting on the welfare of the koala population is unacceptably high.
“Our goal is to work with plantations and regulators to develop a plan that makes it easier to clear blue gum trees without causing extreme injury or death to wildlife.”
The video circulating online, which shows koalas clinging to falling blue gum, was filmed over two days in November 2023 and January 2024.
It is understood all logging has been halted while an investigation is underway.
“We hope that by highlighting the impact this is having on koalas, it will encourage all relevant parties to come together to ensure plantations are cleared safely and that the impact on all species currently living in these areas is reduced.” decreases.
Furious wildlife campaigners say hundreds of koalas have died because of widespread land clearing which they say stretches for miles.
Campaigners fear land clearing could be disastrous for a koala population that was 80% wiped out by bushfires in 2020.
However, forestry company Australian Agribusiness Group (AAG) and Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly defended the clearing.
An AAG spokesperson said they “provide the highest possible level of protection to the local animal population”.
Huge areas of unwanted blue gum are being cleared on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island.
Mr Pengilly supported the proposal, saying AAG went above and beyond what was required.
He said they were “very knowledgeable” about animal welfare, before adding “clearly, every once in a while, a (koala) will probably go down”.
Loggers said they were using spotters and thermal imaging to search for koalas.
They also said they were going around trees with koalas, along with eight others around them, so the animals could find more of their natural habitat.
Whistleblowers fear an Australian icon could become “collateral damage” and want registration suspended until a solution is found.