"Confirmation that 600-700 Koalas in Victoria, perhaps more, are being shot from helicopters and by the state’s environment department is no longer a surprise. In the final analysis, including joeys, we think the total kill will be around 1,300 Koalas". Peter Hylands

What is remarkable is just how Victoria has come to this place? A place in which wildlife that could be rescued, is on the endangered list in the main states and territory where it exists, can be shot from helicopters, all at tax payers’ expense, some of the animals uninjured but without food, shot mothers and joeys tumbling to the ground and to a slow death. We are of course talking about Koalas. All in the name of humanness. Are these the standards that Australia is now to accept?

We should note that something in the order of 100 Australian species are on the Victorian Government’s kill list, bird and mammal species are in the front line of the killing. In 2025 we estimate the target via a number of mechanisms, ATCWs (mitigation), recreation, commercial exploitation, secretive but substantive killing, such as Koalas, will total about 1.2 million Australian animals in 2025. That is just in one small Australian state and in one short year.

To clarify a basic question here, it is not possible to assess the health and condition of a Koala, particularly so, a Koala with a joey, and do so from a helicopter.

"Hundreds of Koalas were shot from helicopters — their joeys fallen from trees and left clinging to their dead or dying mothers," said Jennifer Skiff, director of international programs for the Center for a Humane Economy and a long-time resident of Perth. “After the fires of 2019-20, wildlife hospitals were built, and emergency response protocols were put in place. And yet here we are — not failing due to lack of resources or knowledge, but due to a lack of moral compass by those charged with managing wildlife. This is bureaucratic apathy and a betrayal of the global goodwill that helped Australia build the systems meant to protect wildlife after fires”. Jennifer Skiff and Wayne Pacelle, Centre for a Humane Economy and Animal Wellness Action, 23 April 2025

How many joeys? Let’s do some back of the envelope maths, rough it might be but the probability that this is close is high. Where these Koalas came from also matters given that some female Koalas living in Budj Bim were sterilised or the like. So the suggestion is that most of the Koalas being shot from helicopters are from blue gum plantations and hence unlikely to be sterilised. Therefore given the number of adult Koalas being shot from the tree tops, an additional 200-250 young Koalas may have been killed or died slowly. We will however never know as the evidence, despite claims of the difficulties in accessing the firegrounds at Budj Bim, will have now been cleaned up and any surviving joeys without their mothers, killed. All gone without a trace.

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Quo Vadis?

“We need to understand, given the terrible and cruel conduct in Victoria and the declining standards in governance matters relating to the protection of wildlife and biodiversity, codes of silence, complicity, secrecy and the endless denials and misinformation and the misuse of public finances these entail, that these standards of conduct are not acceptable in what is supposed to be a democratic society. I feel a Claudian moment coming on, we all have a lot to learn from the rise and fall of ancient Rome”. Peter Hylands

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Caught red-handed but not dissuaded

On 9 May the Victorian Government reported:

“Aerial operations finished on Friday 25 April 2025, but ground crews are continuing to undertake wildlife welfare surveillance patrols of fire affected areas to provide support to wildlife. Since early March, 2,219 Koalas have been assessed by both ground and aerial teams, with 48 per cent (1065) identified as suffering severe injuries and burns from the bushfire and required humane euthanasia to relieve unnecessarily suffering”.

In a tangle because of the previous spin and secrecy of its operation, the Victorian Government’s ‘environment team’ originally stated that aerial shooting was the only option because they could not access the fire grounds because the terrain was too difficult and claimed remoteness, it therefore seems very odd that they are now saying that ground teams were assessing the Koalas. So we draw from the latest statement that it was possible to access the fire grounds (which we know well). What is also odd is that the World Heritage site remains closed while the evidence of what was done is cleaned up and buried. So we will never know the truth or extent, including the cruelty and suffering, of what was done, nor what happened to the joeys.

When it come to other ‘operations’ and the Victorian Government, aircraft seem to have become increasingly popular. The latest horror, the aerial ignition of a ‘controlled burn’ at Cobboboonee National Park just to the west of Budj Bim. Cobboboonee National Park also has a population of Koalas who are at risk from the dangers to biodiversity created by aerial ignition of forests with government environment staff claiming there are too many Koalas in the general region. Will we never learn?

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Q and A

While we will investigate what happened in Budj Bim and surrounds in forensic detail, despite Victoria’s codes of silence, a number of questions arise.

• It appears that none of the Koalas were rescued, nor were attempts made to do so, excuses regarding terrain, which varies in difficulty, do not explain why this has occurred?
• In relation to the Koala joeys caught up in the killing, were these subsequently euthanised on the ground or left to die a slow and lingering death? Yes, there has been a program of fertility control but not enough so to allow the pretence that there were only a few joeys involved in the killing.
• How many joeys were killed as part of this event?
• After spending significant amounts on its development, the Koala Hospital, now Koala Ward (in significant part funded by the RSPCA in Victoria from public donations to rescue and rehabilitate wildlife caught up in the 2019-20 wildfires), at the Victorian Government’s Werribee Open Range Zoo, built for the purpose of assisting wildlife injured in wildfires, particularly so from Western Victoria, why did no Koalas from the Budj Bim fires make it to this expensive facility?
• What were the RSPCA’s and Zoos Victoria’s role in the killing?
• Given the scale of the costs now accrued to enable the mass killing, would it have actually been cheaper to save the Koalas, particularly given the much trumpeted and significant investment in the Koala Hospital facility?

The Koala Hospital as described by the zoos own PR.

“Australia's devastating summer bushfires ravaged native species such as Koalas. The $1.84 million Koala Hospital will be built at Werribee Open Range Zoo, with a staggering $1.3 million coming from generous donations made to RSPCA Victoria during last summer’s devastating bushfires. The remaining costs will be funded through Zoos Victoria. Bushfire donations will pay for the new $1.84 million (or as reported elsewhere $2.55 million) Koala Hospital after thousands of the animals were killed in last summer's blazes. The facility will be based at Werribee Open Range Zoo in Melbourne's outer west”.

• The Victorian Government claim that this is the first occasion that aerial shooting of Koalas has occurred at Budj Bim or in Victoria? This statement needs proper investigation as to its accuracy.
• It is likely that this aerial Koala shooting event is in part opportunistic and a clumsy attempt at population control of the Koala population in the region. To what extent this has occurred needs detailed investigation.
• The claim is the killing has been conducted because of animal welfare reasons, what were the events leading up to the mass shooting and how could they have been handled differently to mitigate what occurred at Budj Bim?
• Will the RSPCA, as the states leading animal welfare organisation, conduct an investigation into the aspects of extreme cruelty involved here, both to adult Koalas and to their joeys?

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Responses to questions relating to the Koala Hospital (now ward) and its involvement in rehabilitation of the Budj Bim Koalas

Zoos Victoria

"Hi Peter, I hope you're well. Jenny has forwarded your email to me for a response. I appreciate the interest in Koalas but would like to confirm that Zoos Victoria has not had a role in this Koala program at Budj Bim National Park. For information or updates, we recommend reaching out to the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action. Kind regards….".

From the RSPCA (Victoria), who in large part funded the development of the Koala Hospital from funds donated to wildlife rescue and rehabilitation following the 2019-2020 wildfires in Victoria.

"Dear Andrea, I agree, this is a heartbreaking situation with the Koalas in Budj Bim. RSPCA has not been involved in this issue other than to receive a briefing from DEECA. It is our understanding from DEECA that due to the remote location, the location of the Koalas being high in trees and the safety risks to staff it is not possible for the Koalas to be rescued, nor is it possible to drop food to them, therefore the need for humane euthanasia of injured and starving animals.  If there were any chance of being able to safely bring these Koalas to the Koala Hospital, we would absolutely be advocating for it. It is critical that aerial programs such as the one being undertaken by DEECA in Budj Bim follow best practice standard operating procedures and ensure the welfare of the animals is paramount at all times, including adequate follow up and ongoing population monitoring. We have reiterated these points very clearly to DEECA at the briefing sessions.  Kind regards, Liz".

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What it should look like

Framlingham fires, Western Victoria, 2007

In January 2007, 1,500 hectares of the Framlingham Forest were devasted by a bushfire. The forest, an island in an ocean of farmland was in large part destroyed, but some of the forest canopy survived.  After initially trying to block wildlife rescuers from entering the forest and claiming only 6 Koalas needed to be assessed, the Victoria’s environment department (then named the Department of Sustainability and Environment), swayed by media attention at the time, allowed rescues to commence. Of the 400 Koalas assessed by the wildlife rescue teams in the hours and days that followed, 250 of those Koalas were given to wildlife carers and after recovery were relocated.

As more information about the rescues from the Framlingham fire comes in from those involved in the rescue, over the month following the fires the rescues continued, and by conclusion of the rescue effort, 365 Koalas had been taken into care. None of the brave rescuers were injured during the rescues. This was a brilliant example of a rescue pre the current government and its terrible policies. The rescuers involved at the time are still involved in wildlife rescues, but not in those places in Victoria where the government blocks their ability to access fire sites, doing so can attract fines and risks a possible prison sentence.

Reports at the time suggest this was one of two fires in the region which were deliberately lit, endangering local residents.

The ABC reported at the time:

“A few Koalas and a Kangaroo have been found dead. The Department of Sustainability and Environment's Stan Williams says it is not known how much of the large Koala population in the forest will have survived. Well there was a substantial population down here, but some of them will be okay because the fire intensity has varied in some areas, it was very hot and in other [areas] it hasn't got into the top of the trees," Mr Williams said”.

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The origins of aerial shooting of animals by the Victorian Government

It appears that in Victoria, its government, began blocking wildlife rescues from public lands associated with bushfires and floods in 2018. This major change occurred at the same time as government statements saying that joeys of ‘common’ native animals should not be rescued. These changes appear to have led to what is occurring now, a very slippery slope indeed.

Aerial shooting is intensely cruel and has the potential that target animals and associated young die lingering and painful deaths. Aerial shooting was first used in Victoria as an opportunistic tool to kill ‘pest’ introduced species, more exposed by the loss of tree canopy as a result of significant and hot burn bushfires.

Given the cruelty involved, all Australian wildlife was listed as non-target species for aerial shooting. It appears that just a couple of years later from commencement of the new program and from reports at the time, the Victorian Government were doing just that, shooting Australian species, and at Budj Bim.

Aerial shooting as stated below had the central purpose of mitigating the risk of further endangering native species by reducing the impact of introduced species on Australian species, many of which are in trouble. The sinister transformation of aerial shooting in Victoria from introduced to native species needs to be stopped.

“The 2019-20 bushfires were exceptional in size and impact on native plants and animals in Victoria. These fires generated a new level of public scrutiny and expectation on the government’s response to protecting not just lives and built assets from fire impacts, but also the natural environment and wildlife. For the first time in Victoria’s history, a State Controller Wildlife was stood up within the incident control structure and endorsed the delivery of an emergency response aerial shooting operation for introduced large herbivores and pest predators as a critical immediate action to mitigate the risk of localised or species extinction”. Victorian Government, 2020

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Emergency Response Aerial Shooting Operation and the ASCOT

The Victorian Government goes on to say:

“The emergency response aerial shooting operation was conducted for 11 operational weeks between 10 February 2020 and 8 May 2020. In 42 days of operation, 73 missions were undertaken, including 210 hours total flight time (i.e. transit and control time) and 152 control flight hours. 33 highly experienced staff with specialised skills were valued members of the Aerial Shooting Operations Team, drawn from four organisations: DELWP, Forest Fire Management Victoria, Parks Victoria and the Country Fire Authority (CFA). The operation was endorsed by the State Controller Wildlife and authorised by the State Response Controller. The operation was delivered by a specialised taskforce – an Aerial Shooting Operations Team - embedded into local Incident Management Teams. The integration of the ASOT into local incident command and control demonstrated an effective way to simultaneously deliver multiple outcomes - protection of life, property and biodiversity”.

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Target and Non-Target Species

Target species

• The target species for the operation were deer (all species), feral goats, feral pigs, feral cats and foxes. Feral cattle were permitted targets in the Snowy River National Park only as they have been an eradication target for over a decade and are confirmed feral and unowned. Large herbivore targets (including pigs) took priority over foxes and cats. The destruction of deer as part of the operation was authorised under an Authority to Control Wildlife (ATCW) permit issued by the Office of the Conservation Regulator (DELWP) in consultation with the Game Management Authority.

Non-Target (No Shoot Species)

• Non target (no shoot species) included horses, wild dogs, rabbits, native wildlife and any other animal not listed as a target species.

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Numbers tell a very clear and shocking story

As an indicator of how shocking this matter is in relation to protecting Australian species, the Victorian Government claims it has a major problem with invasive species such as Deer destroying the environment, which is likely to be correct. What is actually happening is that the Victorian Government is protecting Deer above Australian species. Here are the actual numbers:

• Koalas shot from the air in 2025 in Victoria and off the books - let’s say 1,000 given the last couple of weeks of aerial killing;
• ATCW permits to kill Deer (Hog and Fallow) in Victoria in 2024 total a number of 1,058 animals, which are protected by the Victorian Government. So a similar number to Koalas shot from the air in 2025; and this compares to;
• ATCW permits (additional to the commercial kill) of the remaining Kangaroo and Wallaby species in Victoria in 2024 (7 species of Macropodidae have recently become extinct in Victoria) total 131,648.

These numbers are shocking and describe a government intent on destroying Australian species in the state, while protecting invasive species for shooters in the state.

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Gobbledygook

In an attempt to stem the global anger and reputational damage, the Victorian Government states that (23 April 2025):

“As you are aware, Koalas are particularly vulnerable to bushfire with limited ability to flee fire zones and can suffer burns from direct fire impact, burns to respiratory system due to super-heated air and smoke, and are vulnerable to burn-injuries on their feet when moving through firegrounds. Animals are being assessed for their injuries and health, and where possible are being given care or rehabilitation so they can recover. However, due to direct impacts of the fire, the poor health and low likelihood of survival of many animals due to the ongoing drought conditions and lack of food post-fire, many of the animals are requiring euthanising. Given the scale of the animal welfare situation, coupled with the need to act as quickly as possible to minimise suffering, an aerial assessment and intervention program to assess Koalas is underway. Where required, this includes euthanasia. This has been determined as the safest and most humane approach to euthanise koalas in areas of the park which cannot be accessed by ground, to relieve pain and suffering. The decision to employ this method was not taken lightly. DEECA has made the decision to use this approach in consultation with leading animal welfare experts. Reducing the amount of suffering being endured by wildlife impacted by the fire is the sole objective. Decisions being made are focussed towards this objective, where human intervention is practicable, safe for responders and appropriate. All other methods which have been considered are not appropriate given the inability to safely access large areas of impacted landscape by foot due to the remote location of animals often high in the canopy, the extremely rugged terrain, and in consideration of the safety risks of working in a fire affected area, with fire impacted trees. We are undertaking this response in accordance with strict guidelines. Koalas are individually assessed by trained and accredited wildlife assessors against set guidelines which are focused primarily on the impact of fire to their physical state and behaviour of the individual as being strong indicators for the state of welfare. These assessments are being undertaken as close as operationally viable, often at less than 30m. This is supported by use of binoculars and other optical aids”.

The most dubious claims of all are highlighted in bold.

“We spend a lot of time in remote places and bits of Victoria are not they. Budj Bim is a 10 minute drive from the nearest town and in easy distance of large centres (less than 1 hour)”. Peter Hylands

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The Victorian Government says (as of 24 April 2025):

• It has provided a funding allocation: $1.0M (approx.);
• Responding to the welfare of wildlife injured during fire is a critical element of the Victorian Government’s fire response procedures;
• There is also significant community concern for wildlife during fire events;
• This theme built on existing arrangements and sought to closer engage with communities on wildlife response during fires; and
• This included identifying improved coordination and communication with wildlife carers and advocacy groups.

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