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Charity working to save koalas from Australian bushfires raises €900,000

A charity working to save koalas from raging bushfires in Australia has raised €900,000. The co...
Michael Staines
Michael Staines

15.43 24 Nov 2019


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Charity working to save koalas...

Charity working to save koalas from Australian bushfires raises €900,000

Michael Staines
Michael Staines

15.43 24 Nov 2019


Share this article


A charity working to save koalas from raging bushfires in Australia has raised €900,000.

The country has been hit by a devastating early bushfire season this year with huge fires burning through several states.

New South Wales has been hardest hit with more than 1.65m hectares burnt and six lives lost.

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This morning there were more than 60 fires burning across the state.

The fires have claimed homes and businesses across the country and have had a devastating impact on wildlife in certain areas.

Koalas

The koala was already struggling before this year’s fire season took hold – with Australian Koala Foundation warning back in May that the animals were “functionally extinct.”

It said their numbers had fallen so low that they were unlikely to produce a new generation.

Their numbers are hard to track as they are highly nomadic and live in many different habitats; however, experts generally agree that they are in steep decline.

Koala An injured koala receiving care at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital. Image: Port Macquarie Koala Hospital/GoFundMe

In a call for funding, the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital (PMKH) warned that around 75% of the land devastated by this year’s fires is prime koala habitat.

At least 1,000 are thought to have died in the fires.

The funding page was originally set up in a bid to raise AU$25,000 to treat injured koalas at the hospital.

It has now raised AU$1,462,290 (€900,638).

Koalas An injured koala receiving care at the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital. Image: Port Macquarie Koala Hospital/GoFundMe

The extra money is being used to extend a koala drinking station project across New South Wales and to establish a wild koala breeding program.

The programme would see large swathes of koala habitat protected from development to allow the animals the space and safety to breed.


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