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Australians have been outraged by a photograph of a koala climbing a tree after loggers devastated its habitat.
Huge swaths of unwanted blue gums are being removed on South Australia’s Kangaroo Island, leaving large numbers of the iconic marsupials feared dead or homeless.
Wildlife campaigners are desperate after seeing heartbreaking images of distressed koalas being felled along with trees.
Kangaroo Island Wildlife Network president Katie Welz said she can’t believe this was allowed to happen.
Miles of unwanted blue gums are being removed on Kangaroo Island with hundreds of koalas high in their canopies
“After I stopped crying I felt frustrated and angry,” she said. 7news.
“I’m surprised this is allowed to happen.”
Furious wildlife activists say hundreds of koalas have been dying due to widespread clearing which they say extends for kilometres.
Activists fear clearing the land will be disastrous for a koala population that was 80 percent wiped out by the 2020 bushfires.
However, timber company Australian Agribusiness Group (AAG) and Kangaroo Island mayor Michael Pengilly have defended the clearing.
An AAG spokesperson said they are “providing the highest possible level of protection to the local animal population.”
Pengilly supported this and said AAG has gone beyond what is necessary.
Activists fear clearing the land could be disastrous for a population that was 80 percent wiped out by the 2020 wildfires (file image)
He said they are “very knowledgeable” about animal welfare, before saying “clearly, from time to time, one (koala) is bound to fall.”
Loggers said they use spotters and thermal imaging to search for koalas.
They also said they avoid trees with koalas, plus eight others around them so the animals can find more of their natural habitat.
Whistleblowers fear an Australian icon is becoming “collateral damage” and want registration stopped until a solution is found.