Hundreds of koalas 'massacred' in Australia, activists say

Australian environmentalists say hundreds of koalashave been killed at a bluegum logging plantation in the state ofVictoria, sparking an investigation by officials."Hundreds of koalas were found dead and injured by locals in the areawho tipped us off yesterday," Anthony Amis, a koala researcher forenvironmental group Friends of the Earth Australia, said on Sunday.  "They found koalas bulldozed. Our local sources told us they couldsmell rotting koalas. It's a massacre," Amis told dpa, adding theincident occurred during logging activities at a timber property nearPortland in south-west Victoria over the past few months. Local Portland resident Helen Oakley, who was one of the first onesto raise the alarm, posted a video to Facebook on Friday, saying shehad seen the marsupials lying dead at the site."Mothers killed and their little babies. Australia should be ashamedof this," she said. "Bluegum trees were logged by a company called Midway until Novemberand then handed over to a local landowner. During the clearing oflogging debris, they must have bulldozed the koalas," Amis said.  About two dozen animals had to be euthanized, said Victoria'sdepartment of environment, which is conducting an investigation."If this is found to be due to deliberate human action, we expect theConservator Regular to act swiftly against those responsible," thedepartment said on Sunday. In a statement, Midway said they rejected the "disturbingallegations" about harming koalas and said they had left "anappropriate number of 'habitat trees' for the existing koalapopulation."The koalas were uninjured and in good health, but since the companyleft, the remaining trees seem to have been cleared, the firm said.The deaths at the plantation come after tens of thousands of koalaswere killed in the bush fires that have burned more than 12 millionhectares of land in Australia, including dozens of koala habitats.The fires have put the iconic animals at risk of being listed as"endangered."  Unlike in New South Wales and Queensland, koalas are not a threatenedspecies in Victoria. In fact, in some areas, there are too manykoalas, giving rise to issues like not enough food.Amis said the whole region - about 170,000 hectares of bluegumplantation established in the 1990s - was one of the most importantkoala habitats due to its specific healthy gene pool and also has oneof the highest concentration of koalas in the state.  In Victoria, killing, harassing or disturbing wildlife can lead to apenalty of up to 8,000 dollars (5,350 US dollars) and an additionalfine of more than 800 dollars per head of wildlife.